Man held for ‘scam’ faces raps from 50 more victims

MANILA, Philippines—A 41-year-old man was arrested Saturday night in Quezon City for multiple counts of estafa arising from an alleged investment scam and may face complaints from at least 50 more victims, police said.

Ronald Granada was arrested by members of the Quezon City Police District’s Kamuning station near his residence at the corner of Scout Torillo and Scout Madrinan Streets in Barangay South Triangle, on a warrant issued by Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Judge Agripino Bravo.

Following the arrest, around 50 other complainants, mostly from low-income families, have come to the station.

In an Inquirer interview, one of the complainants said Granada managed to convince them to invest money in a product package of soap and vitamins worth P888 each, after which they would be authorized to “recruit” more people in a scheme that would earn them P500 daily.

Michael Gloria, 38, said he was recruited by Granada in February last year, when the latter used the company name Amillionaire Global Inc.

He later discovered that before Amillionaire, Granada had used other company names like “Global Money” and “Alivelihood.” The suspect then changed it to “Abrilliance” and “Asuper” after he was charged with eight counts of estafa.

“Now he is arrested,” Gloria quipped, noting how Granada managed to change names every two or three months to be able to continue operations using the same office.

Granada has four coaccused who remain at large, according to Kamuning station commander Supt. Limuel Obon.