Estafa raps filed vs Globe Asiatique's Delfin Lee, 16 others

UPDATED 1:00 p.m. - Real estate developer Delfin Lee and 16 other persons are facing a syndicated estafa complaint for allegedly using Pag-IBIG funds (Home Development Mutual Fund money) for bogus housing loans and questionable housing development projects. The criminal complaint was filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday by Pag-IBIG and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), with the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Syndicated estafa is a non-bailable offense. Should an accused be convicted in court for the crime, he may face a penalty of life imprisonment. Property developer Globe Asiatique was allegedly took out at least P6.6 billion in housing loan proceeds for the buyers of its housing projects in Pampanga. From the 9,951 alleged Pag-IBIG borrowers in the Globe Asiatique deals, 1,000 could not be located, 400 denied applying for housing loans, and 200 had incomplete documents for the transaction. Some of the buyers were allegedly fake members of Pag-IBIG, and others were ineligible for membership. Another group of buyers used spurious loan accounts. Lee had denied committing any anomaly. Xevera housing project In 2008, Globe Asiatique entered into a Funding Commitment Agreement with Pag-IBIG for its Xevera housing project in Mabalacat, Pampanga. However, NBI's probe showed that Lee made false representations and sumbitted fake documents to secure the loan. The NBI also discovered that 1,000 buyers were only fictitious after finding out that Globe Asiatique used fake tax identification numbers (TINs), marriage contracts, and identification cards for them. According to the complaint, "In securing the funding for the Xevera Projects... the respondents actually conspired with each other, with malice and evident bad faith, by willfully and feloniously employing a grand fraudulent scheme to deceive [Pag-IBIG] into releasing the aggregate amount of at least P6.6 billion directly to Globe Asiatique, to the damage and prejudice of [Pag-IBIG] and its contributing members." The complaint said the release of Pag-IBIg funds to ghost borrowers prevented it from lending the money to legitimate borrowers and housing developers. Charge sheet Dexter Lee, Globe Asiatique's executive vice president, chief finance officer, treasurer and board member, was also included on the charge sheet. The other respondents include:

GA accounting and finance head Cristina Salagan;

GA documentation department head Christina Sagun;

GA employees or agents Lerma Vitug, Tintin Fonclara, Geraldine Fonclara, Revelyn Reyes, Rod Macaspac, Marvin Arevalo, Joan Borbon, Christian Cruz, Rodolfo Malabanan, Nannet Haguiling, and Hon Tungol. The employees or agents supposedly helped solicit fake buyers and create "ghost borrowers." Also named as respondent was Pag-IBIG legal department employee Alex Alvarez, who allegedly notarized the fake loans that Globe Asiatique submitted to Pag-IBIG. Other unidentified GA directors, employees, and agents were also listed on the charge sheet. DOJ probe The filing of the complaint paves the way for a preliminary investigation to be conducted by the DOJ. The prosecutors who will handle the inquiry will determine probable cause to indict the respondents for syndicated estafa, a case will be filed in the apprioriate court. Shortly after the filing of the complaint on Friday, Justice Sec. Leila de Lima said Prosecutor General Claro Arellano will determine whether the complaint will be handled by the DOJ task force that deals with business-related complaints. The same task force also handles the syndicated estafa complaints lodged against businessman Celso de los Angeles Jr., owner of the collapsed Legacy Group of Companies. –VVP, GMANews.TV