Digos cops file criminal charges vs suspects in text scam

THE TEXT SCAM suspects in a police vehicle on the way to the Prosecutor’s Office of Digos City. ELDIE AGUIRRE/INQUIRER MINDANAO

DIGOS CITY—Police here filed several criminal charges against four suspects in a text scam who had victimized a minor.

Supt. Querubin Manalang, city police chief, said on Wednesday that complaints for at least six counts of estafa and violation of the antichild abuse law were filed against Alfredo Wenceslao, Bernardino Lachavez, Jhandy Canuto and Myrna Simon at the City Prosecutor’s Office.

The four suspects were arrested in an entrapment operation by the city police and police in the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) on Tuesday.

A money transfer trail had led police to the location of the suspects, after 17-year-old Sarah (not the real name) lodged a complaint at the city police.

Sarah told investigators that she had received a text message purportedly coming from an official of a brewery, announcing that she had won P650,000 (not P560,000 as earlier reported), in a nationwide lottery of mobile phone numbers.

The 17-year-old college student, who hails from a poor family, fell for the scam and sent P20,000 to the suspects, who are known in Igacos as members of the “Hello Garci” syndicate, named after an election commissioner who had allegedly connived with former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to rig the results of the 2004 presidential election in favor of Arroyo.

The suspects succeeded in making Sarah believe that she needed to send the money to process her purported prize.

After repeated demands for her to send more money, this time purportedly to fix a tax evasion case she would face as a result of her winning the lottery, Sarah sought the help of the police.

At the police station here, a caller who introduced herself as Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares called up and tried to convince Sarah to send P26,000 more to “fix the tax evasion case.”

With clearance by police, Sarah sent P200 just to determine the location of the claimant, which turned out to be Igacos, according to Manalang.

The claimant was identified as Simon, who was later arrested at the Igacos branch of a money transfer company.

The arrest of the other suspects followed and they were all brought here to face the criminal charges.

The City Prosecutor’s Office is expected to forward the case to the Regional Trial Court here anytime soon. Orlando B. Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao