3 face estafa raps for investment scam

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice has recommended the filing of charges against three officials of forex trading program Performance Investment Products Corporation (PIPC) for their alleged involvement in an investment scam. Facing estafa charges are PIPC president and chief executive officer Michael Liew, general manager Cristina Gonzalez-Tuason, and director Eugene Go. A DOJ panel chaired by Senior State Prosecutor Phillip Kimpo said there is strong evidence that the three conspired to dupe the complainants, Gerardo Dee and his wife Melanie, of $90,000. In her complaint, Mrs Dee said they agreed to invest $90,000 in PIPC in May 2007 after the respondents assured them of a P13-percent gain every year and a P10-percent discount on plate tickets. That time, the Dee couple were about to migrate to Canada. Mrs Dee said they gave cash to the suspects two times - $40,000 on July 4, 2007 and $50,000 on July 6, 2007. Two weeks later, they were informed by Go that Liew had disappeared and had withdrawn all the money from the bank accounts of PIPC worldwide. In her counter-affidavit, Tuason denied the allegations against her and interposed the defense of good faith and lack of factual basis to implicate her in the offense charged. Go, on the other hand, maintained that it was the complainants who asked him regarding the status of their investments before they finally decided to make their investment with PIPC. The DOJ panel, however, said they are convinced that there was conspiracy between and among the respondents to solicit investments from the public, the complainants in particular, despite lack of legal authority to do so. - GMANews.TV