Pangasinan townsfolk file complaints vs One Dream

DAGUPAN CITY—About 200 residents of Bolinao town in Pangasinan province may have lost P50 million after investing in the multilevel networking firm One Dream Global Marketing Inc., whose officers could no longer be found.

This was the allegation of 22 Bolinao residents on Thursday when they filed a complaint against One Dream president Arnel Gacer and his alleged accomplices, Jobelle de Guzman and Richard Ramos, at the National Bureau of Investigation office here.

Norlo Gallang, NBI special investigator, said the investors trooped to the NBI when One Dream failed to make its scheduled payout two weeks ago for their last investments.

“They would learn later from news reports that One Dream officers had been charged with syndicated estafa at the Department of Justice in Manila,” said Gallang.

He said based on the complaints, the residents’ investments ranged from P500,000 to P1.2 million. “We expect more people from Bolinao to arrive (July 24) to formally complain,” he said.

The NBI asked reporters not to identify the complainants for their protection while it pursued an investigation.

In an affidavit, one complainant said he was recruited by Gacer and his local contacts. He said he was asked to join three meetings of investors in Barangay Germinal and Balingasay in Bolinao in June and July.

It was in those meetings, the complainant said, where Gacer explained that an investment of P888 [for a slot or share in the company’s earnings] would grow to P1,300 after four days. An investor would earn an additional P44 per slot for each new recruit he or she would bring to the company.

“Buoyed by our natural desire to similarly profit from such scheme and because of the company’s continuous assurance that we will indeed profit, we placed various sums of money and obtained referrals,” the complainant said.

He said he initially invested P4,440 for five slots. After receiving his profits, he raised his investment to P8,880. His last investment at One Dream was P562,992. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon