Con artist victimizes money exchange teller

A money exhange shop teller in Mandaue City lost more than P100,000 cash to a con artist who posed as a customer.

Police said the suspect was identified by Anthony Lauron, 34, teller of VHEZ Money Changer, through the police rogue’s gallery.

Police withheld the name of the suspect, who is reportedly from Mindanao.

Investigation showed that the man who introduced himself as Dr. Cortes called the money exchange shop yesterday afternoon to have his $3,000 bills changed to peso.

PO3 Marino Lofranco, investigator of the Investigation and Dectection Management Branch, said the shop had been doing transactions where it delivers money to its customers.

The shop is located in a mall beside the Saint Joseph Shrine in barangay Centro.

Lauron told police that his boss asked him to deliver P122,400 to a certain Dr. Cortes or lawyer Miguel Cortes, who claimed he was waiting in a church.

Lauron said he just got out of the mall when a man who claimed he was Atty. Miguel Cortes approached him and brought him to the church convent.

Lauron said that after a brief talk, the man took the cash from him.

Lauron said the man told him to wait for a while as he will get the $3,000 from his mother who was inside the church.

Lauron later sought help from the police when he could no longer find the man.