Ex-Pagadian mayor, wife plead not guilty to estafa raps over Aman Futures scam

Former Pagadian Mayor Samuel Co and his wife Prescilla Ann pleaded not guilty to another set of syndicated estafa charges filed against them, this time in Pagadian City, for alleged involvement in the Aman Futures investment scam, a television report said Friday.

GMA News TV's "News To Go" reported the arraignment was conducted Thursday, even as the couple's lawyers expressed confidence the case against their clients will eventually be dismissed due to lack of evidence

Co and his wife will be filing a petition to bail. Syndicated estafa is a non-bailable offense.

During the arraignment, the victims of the scam staged a protest rally in front of the trial court to ask for justice, even as the demanded that their money be returned, the report said.

Earlier this month, the Cos also pleaded not guilty on syndicated estafa charges filed against them before Iligan City regional trial court.

The couple was arrested in December 2013 at the Ashton 2 Serendra in Taguig City based on the warrant of arrest issued in April 2013 by the Iligan court.

Co and his wife were implicated in a large-scale investment scam that victimized 15,000 investors in Mindanao and Visayas in 2012.

In March 2013, the Department of Justice recommended syndicated estafa charges against Co and 11 others for their alleged involvement in the scam traced to Aman Futures Group Philippine Inc.

Based on its preliminary investigation, the DOJ special panel junked Co's defense that he merely helped Aman Futures in distributing checks to investors and was not a member of the doomed investment firm that duped thousands of victims.

Aside from Co, also charged were Aman Futures founder Manuel Amalilio, who is serving a two-year jail sentence in Malaysia for possession of fake passports and IDs, as well as other Aman Futures executives who were found liable for engaging in futures trading even without the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The DOJ cited co-accused's sworn statement in which Leila Gan claimed issuing a certification on Aug. 25, 2012 that Co was an "authorized agent" of the investment firm.

In his defense, Co earlier said he and his wife were also victims of Aman Futures as they invested P3,266,700 in the firm under the account name Bo's Coffee with an interest of 58-percent interest after 17 days. He made another investment under the account name Max's Chicken with an amount of P3,205,500 with a 60-percent interest after 17 days.

Co had said he tried stopping Aman Futures from operating but failed to get an authority from the Sangguniang Panglungsod of Pagadian City because its members "were themselves politicians... and no one complained against the operation of Aman."

In June 2012, Co had ordered the cancellation of Aman Futures' business permit after finding out that the firm was into futures trading but was registered as a general merchandise business. — Amita O. Legapi /LBG, GMA News