Wednesday, August 27, 2008 20 PIPC execs, brokers charged with estafa
ESTAFA charges were filed last Tuesday by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against 20 officers and brokers of the Performance Investment Products Corporation (PIPC) for salting away the money of its investors amounting to US$250 million.
A panel of prosecutors has earlier recommended the filing of criminal charges against the corporate owners and brokers of the PIPC for violation of the several provisions of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) in connection with its illegal sale of unregistered securities.
In a resolution signed by Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño and Senior State Prosecutor Philip Kimpo, chairman of the special investigating panel, the justice department found probable cause to indict respondents Michael H.K. Liew, chairman and president of PIPC; Ma. Cristina Jurado, director; Cristina Tuason, general manager; and Ernesto Sy, incorporator, for violation of Article 315, par. 1(b) of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Section 1, par. 2 of Presidential Decree (PD) 1689.
Article 315, par. 1 (b) punishes any person “who shall defraud another misappropriating his or her money, personal property received in trust or for administration, or under any other obligation involving the duty to make delivery of or return the same, even though such obligation totally or partially guaranteed by a bond; or by denying having received such money, goods or other property.”
The DOJ said the accused are facing a maximum penalty of reclusion perpetua under PD 1689, par 2, if found guilty of the charges considering that the amount of the fraud exceeds P100,000.
Also recommended to be charged as accessories to the crime were Manuel Gonzalez, Barbara Garcia, Anthony Keirulf, Nicole Ortega, Mayenne Carmona, Oudine Santos, Pamela Morris, Nicoline Amoranto-Mendoza, Maricar Gonzalez, Christine Yu, VJ Vergel de Dios, Jay Tenco, Jimbo Aragon, Janice Silvestre, Stanley, and David Chua-Unsu.
The DOJ held that there is sufficient evidence to establish the conspiracy exists among Liew, Tuason, Sy, and Jurado when they managed the complainants’ money and engaged as securities advisor, broker-dealer and investment house without the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and knowing well that PIPC was registered for some other purpose.
“There is conspiracy when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it. In this case, respondents Liew, Sy, Jurado and Tuason’s overt acts consisted in the actual commission of the crime through PIPC’s business operations for more than seven years; and in the moral assistance they gave to each other for the furtherance of their criminal intent of defrauding the general public of their funds,” the DOJ said.
Although, there was no evidence showing that the other accused conspired with Liew, Sy, Jurado and Tuason, the DOJ said they cannot escape liability as they have knowledge about the illegal business operation.
“But, since they were not the ones who conspired to engage in such illegal business operation, they can only be regarded as accessories to the conspiracy,” the resolution stated.
Meanwhile, the DOJ dismissed for insufficiency of evidence the complaint of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against other respondents, namely: Herley Jesuitas, Jonathan Ocampo, Michael Floro, Michael Nubla, Eugene Go, Evan Santos, Mia Legarda, Edgar Flores, Gabriel Dee, Marico Lorenzo, Jonas-Karl Perez, and Peter Donnely Barot.
The panel ruled that the said individuals have no involvement in the illegal activities of PIPC.
The case stemmed from the syndicated estafa complaint filed by the NBI against the officers and brokers of PIPC in connection with its multimillion-dollar financial scam.
In its complaint, the NBI said its investigation showed that there was a “grand conspiracy” on the part of the officers and agents of PIPC to defraud its investors.
Under the PIPC’s financial scheme, investors were required to shell out a minimum of US$40,000 with a promised of 12 to 15 percent return of investment annually.
Those who cannot produce the minimum amount were allowed to have partners in order to produce the required minimum investment. The investor is then asked to identify a pair of currencies where he or she would like to place the investments.
However, the investors later learned that Liew had allegedly salted away their funds amounting to US$250 million.
The DOJ said Liew got hold of millions of dollars from his Filipino investors by convincing Tuason, who he had known for 10 years already, to become his investor-partner.
The two then bought an off-the-shelf corporation from Picazo Law, which is engaged in providing off-the-shelf corporations to clients who need it quickly.
Buying a “ready” corporation from the Picazo, according to the DOJ, was not difficult for the two considering that Tuason’s brother, Gonzalez, is part of Picazo Law.
To comply with the reportorial requirements of the SEC, Tuason sought Jurado and Sy to become directors of PIPC, which they readily accepted. (ECV/Sunnex)
