THE wedding coordinator who allegedly scammed some 30 individuals might face syndicated or large-scale estafa, according to the Anti-Scam Unit of Davao City.
“Estafa man gyud ni s’ya, pero kung daghan-daghan ni sila nga complainant basin ma-consider pa ni siya nga syndicated estafa, no bail na siya, o kining large-scale estafa nga no bail pud (This is estafa and with many complainants, it can be considered as syndicated estafa. No bail for both large-scale and syndicated estafa),” Simplicio Sagarino, ASU Head Chief, said in an interview with SunStar Davao.
Sagarino said a warrant of arrest will be issued if complainants file a case.
“After sa demand letter kung dili mo-respond, diha na namo e-refer asa man sila gusto mag-file og kaso, sa CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) ba , Sa NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) ba kaha o sa Local Police [Station] (if the alleged scammer will not respond we will refer the complainants to wherever they want to file the case —CIDG, NBI or at their local
police station)... Kung ma-file lang gyud nato ang kaso kay magka-warrant gyud na siya (If we will file a case, there will be a warrant of arrest),” Sagarino said.
But Sagarino said the alleged scammer can still offer a compromise agreement with victims.
“Pero kung iyaha gane ng pambayaran tong mga complainant kung naa pa siya’y kwarta, ang judge ana mosugot og compromise agreement (But if the wedding organizer will return their money, the judge could agree to a compromise agreement),” he said.
He added, “Mao man pud ng gusto sa mga complainant nga mabalik ilahang kwarta, kay hinaguan gud to nila, hard-earned money to nila, dili basta-basta to kay ma-pressure sila kay ilaha gud tong wedding, mastop lang tungod anang na-scam sila (The complainants just want to get their hard-earned money back. They felt pressured in preparing for the wedding but cancelled due to being scammed).”
On June 25 a post of one of the victims, Maria Soledad Gabion, went viral on social media after she shared that they haven’t heard from the wedding coordinator of Evento Events identified as Jay Lacs Loyd Blanco Semblante, who was also known to some as alias Ysaac Blances.
As of writing, several complainants have already filed a police blotter at the Sta. Ana Police Station while the ASU will send a demand letter to the wedding coordinator. KSD