Actor Ricardo Cepeda was arrested on October 7 in Caloocan in connection with an alleged syndicated estafa case.
On October 8, his stepson, Joshua de Sequera, shared his mugshots and claimed that Ricardo was "wrongfully accused."
In the now-deleted post, Joshua went on to say that Ricardo is not connected with the sales company involved in the case and was merely hired as its brand ambassador.
"Please spread the word. My Father Richard Cepeda Go was wrongfully accused. He was simply the product endorser of a sales company. They used the title BRAND AMBASSADOR (which many companies also use)," he wrote on Facebook.
Joshua also briefly explained what allegedly went wrong with the company Ricardo was endorsing.
"The company offered an investment scheme (which he had no knowledge nor participation of) which paid people a big % profit monthly. Guaranteed with advanced payouts in monthly postdated checks. Eventually the checks started bouncing so the investors filed estafa cases against everyone who they thought was part of the company. Including Ricardo -who was just the celebrity model," his caption further read.
Joshua is also confident that Ricardo can prove his innocence.
"His lawyer can easily prove his innocence by presenting a copy of DTI showing the company is a sole proprietorship and his name is not there. Also his name appears nowhere on any of the said investment moas and post dated checks," he wrote.
As syndicated estafa cases are non-bailable Ricardo is still detained at Camp Karingal in Quezon City.
"Request for bail and if ever court date is his biggest hassle because it means he's stuck in detainment even though he's innocent," Joshua said on the post.
He also requested for people to be mindful of what they say about the matter.
"I have seen a lot of hateful comments about this. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED KEEP YOUR COMMENTS TO YOURSELF," his post ended.
Get to know more about the actor Ricardo Cepeda here:
Actor Ricardo Cepeda was arrested on October 7, 2023 in Caloocan City in connection with an alleged syndicated estafa case.
He was nabbed by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) following a warrant of arrest issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 12 Executive Judge Gemma P. Bucayu-Madrid in Sanchez Mira, Cagayan.
His stepson, Joshua de Sequera, defended him, claiming that Ricardo is merely the brand ambassador of the sales company involved in the case.
Ricardo Cepeda is an actor who has been working in Philippine showbiz since the '90s.
He is the longtime partner of model and actress Marina Benipayo.
He is also the ex-husband of actress Snooky Serna.
Ricardo Cepeda has starred in several Kapuso shows such as 'Arabella,' 'Ang Dalawang Ikaw' and 'Mano Po Legacy: Her Big Boss.'
One of his most recent Kapuso appearances was in 'Mga Lihim ni Urduja,' where he starred opposite his real life partner Marina Benipayo and Kapuso actress Kylie Padilla.
He was also part of the Philippine adaptation of hit Korean drama series 'Descendants of the Sun.'
According to his stepson Joshua de Sequera, Ricardo is still detained at Camp Karingal in Quezon City as syndicated estafa cases are non-bailable.