‘NBI man’ after fake goods turns out to be fake himself

MANILA, Philippines–He claimed to be a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent tasked with going after traders selling counterfeit products. Instead, he turned out to be a faker himself.

A man who pretended to be an NBI agent and extorted P47,000 from a stall owner in Divisoria, Manila, last year was charged on Tuesday with robbery-extortion.

The case against Jeprie Ragguinan, a native of Cagayan Valley, was filed in the Manila Regional Trial Court based on the complaint of Connie Koa, a businesswoman who sold shirts at Tutuban Center.

According to court records, Ragguinan went to Koa’s stall on May 26 last year and told a sales clerk that he wanted to look at the products in their storage area.

This was after Koa’s former staffer, Arnel Ruiz, told the clerk that the son of one of their regular customers was going to visit the store.

Koa, however, spotted Ragguinan through a security camera and asked him what he was doing inside the storage area.

At this point, Ragguinan introduced himself as an NBI agent and said he was investigating her for selling fake Dickies and Fubu products.

Although this was denied by Koa, the suspect told her that if she wanted to avoid an investigation, she should just pay him P60,000.

Told that she could not withdraw the amount as it was a Sunday and the bank was closed, Ragguinan demanded the store’s earnings for the day in addition to what Koa could withdraw from an ATM which amounted to P47,000.

The following day, Koa went to the police to file a complaint of estafa against Ragguinan and Ruiz. When she asked around at the NBI, she found out that Ragguinan was not an agent.

Assistant City Prosecutor Jose Nelson Todas recommended the filing of robbery-extortion charges against Ragguinan and set his bail at P100,000.–Erika Sauler