Man tagged in P200M Ponzi scheme nabbed in Davao del Sur—police

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—The Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) in Eastern Mindanao has arrested a man allegedly involved in the P200-million Ponzi scheme operated by the company Minerva Co., whose leader had been arrested in Bulacan in January this year.

In announcing the arrest of scam suspect Reynaldo Lu, Supt. Joel Pernito, chief of the Eastern Mindanao Criminal Investigation Unit, warned Mindanao investors anew to be wary of pyramiding scheme promising them unusually high returns for their money in a short span of time.

CIDU arrested Lu, 50, in Barangay Sinawilan in Matanao town, Davao del Sur on Friday morning.

Lu, a resident of Barangay Marber in Bansalan, Davao del Sur, is facing charges of syndicated estafa in a Mandaluyong court, for his alleged involvement in the Ponzi scheme. He is also facing a carnapping case in a Regional Trial Court in Cainta, Rizal.

Pernito said the CIDU has been on the suspect’s trail for over a month before they caught him where he was allegedly hiding.

The Ponzi scheme, which was named after Italian Charles Ponzi for duping thousands in New England in 1920s, is a fraudulent investment scheme, where investors are promised unusually high yield for their money based on the amount poured in by subsequent investors, instead of income from a real business operation.

Pernito said Lu allegedly worked for the company Minerva Co., which started almost at the same time as Aman Futures Group Philippines.

Aman Futures was ordered shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2012 after victimizing at least 10,000 people in Visayas and Mindanao, and fleecing them of a total of P12 billion.

Elvy Lu, allegedly one of the heads of Minerva Co., was arrested in Bulacan in January this year.

The CIDU regional chief warned investors in Mindanao to be vigilant and not to easily believe in business schemes that promise an unusually high return of investments in so short a time.