Embattled Legacy Group owner dies in Quezon City hospital

The owner of the Legacy Group who faces charges of syndicated estafa (swindling) over an alleged insurance and pension scam died Tuesday at a Quezon City hospital. Celso de los Angeles had been suffering from throat cancer and died at the St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC) Tuesday morning, radio dzBB reported Wednesday. De los Angeles had been treated since 2010, the report said. He was arrested in August 2010 at the SLMC over the estafa charges filed against him in Leyte. De los Angeles had been accused of siphoning off millions of pesos from plan holders and depositors of his companies. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas filed the case against him in 2010 in connection with P487 million of solicited funds received from depositors of First Interstate Bank (Rural Bank of Kananga, Leyte), which was under the Legacy Group, that De los Angeles and his co-accused have “willfully, unlawfully and fraudulently misappropriated." But he had repeatedly denied the accusations against him. — LBG, GMA News