Davao Norte investment firm flees with P80M

DAVAO CITY — An official of a company running an investment scheme was reported to have fled with P80 million on Wednesday, as hundreds of investors sought police assistance in Tagum City to recover their money, police said.

Police Col. Ferlu Silvio, Davao del Norte provincial police director, said the operator of Enterprise Co. (Enco) could no longer be found after police padlocked its office in Tagum City on June 10, the same day the National Bureau of Investigation raided and shut down the offices of Kapa Community Ministry International Inc.

Complaint

Silvio identified Enco’s operations manager as Berneche Azucena of Barangay Magsaysay in Carmen town, Davao del Norte.

Enco reportedly promised investors a return of 300 percent of their capital within 20 days, Silvio said, adding that at least 600 investors went to the Tagum City police to file a complaint against Azucena.

One of Enco’s staff disclosed that Enco only used the money of new investors to pay out their old clients, Silvio said.

On Tuesday, Angelo Goc-ong, chief executive officer and proprietor of P7 Beauty and Health Products Marketing, executed an affidavit of undertaking before the court, saying his company could not come up with the promised 600-percent return of investments to hundreds of clients because of “some unexpected problems.”

Foreign exchange trading

But Goc-ong said the company could still give a 300-percent return to investors, with the capital investment and interest to be given back to them within 30 days from June 18.

P7 Marketing, whose Facebook page Perfect Save’n Marketing has been followed by 3,900 people, is involved in foreign exchange trading and keeps an office in Tagum City.

Syndicated estafa

The provincial police filed a syndicated estafa case last week against Kenneth Paz Nagas, chief executive officer of QuestLink Digital Marketing Services, who disappeared with over P200 million in investments. QuestLink promised a 500-percent return of investment in just 15 days.

On June 19, about 100 people sought police help in Tagum City after the chief executive officer of Titan 29 Marketing allegedly fled with P500 million in investments.

Silvio said investors had put in a minimum of P20,000 and a maximum of P2.5 million, after being promised that their money would be doubled in just seven days.

Ryan Maunes, the founder of the investment scheme, his agents and coordinators are now at large, Silvio said.

14 firms closed

In the Davao Region, authorities have shut down 14 investment companies offering a high rate of returns for money similar to the Ponzi scheme.

Police are also investigating 39 more companies to ensure they have complied with government regulations.

Brig. Gen. Marcelo Morales, Southern Mindanao police director, said the regional police and five other government agencies set up the Inter-Agency Task Force to Prevent Fraudulent Investment Scheme following the proliferation of investment schemes in the region.