Bogus staff of Villar arrested for estafa

By Jeffrey Damicog

From Manila Bulletin

Sept. 3, 2018

A woman misrepresenting herself as a staff of Senator Cynthia Villar has been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over estafa allegations.

NBI Director Dante Gierran identified the arrested suspect as Lana Dela Cruz who was arrested during an entrapment operation last August 31.

Following her arrest, the suspect has been charged before the Las Pinas City Prosecutors Office with estafa in relation to Republic Act 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012) and violation of RA 9646 (Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines).

Gierran said the arrest stemmed from complaints that Dela Cruz has been selling condominium units at the Royal Palm Villa in Las Pinas which she claimed to belong to the Villar family.

One of the victims recounted that Dela Cruz introduced herself as an employee of Villar and offered a condominium unit at the cost of P350,000.

Dela Cruz claimed Villar gave the unit to her but the suspect had decided to sell it since she could not afford the cost of the transfer of ownership.

The complainant even got a call from an unknown individual claiming also to be Villar and confirmed that Dela Cruz is her staff and that the unit was given as a donation.

Dela Cruz also offered another unit to another complainant using the same modus.

However, the second complainant sought help from the NBI after becoming suspicious of Dela Cruz.

The second complainant discovered that the suspect worked with Ohana Place which is not owned by the Villar family and that the suspect is not a registered real estate broker of the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC).

The second complainant also discovered from the office of Villar that the suspect is not an employee of the senator and that no condominium unit was donated to Dela Cruz.