Suspect in investment scam victimizing OFWs arrested

A suspected leader of an investment scam that victimized over a hundred overseas Filipino workers was arrested in an entrapment operation in Quezon City on Thursday.

GMA News' Jamie Santos reported on "Unang Balita" on Friday that police operatives arrested suspect Bonjomar Laguna, together with two others, in an apartment in Cubao.

One of the victims, identified only in the report as "Maria," had sought police help to trap Laguna of Prime Investment Company, who she claimed tricked her through social media to invest in his company and in a few days she will get a huge sum in interest.

"Sinasabi niya na malaki ang kikitain kung mag-invest sa kumpanya niya. Sa una, nagbigay ako ng P44,100 at tutubo aniya ito ng mga P300,000. Pero walang payout na nangyari," Maria said.

Also, she said Laguna tricked her for a second time to invest in a marketing firm and after she invested P12,000, the suspect disappeared and closed his social media account.

After some time, the suspect unexpectedly contacted Maria again and convinced her to invest P500,000.  She then hatched a plan to entrap Laguna and by setting a meeting with him to personally hand over to him an initial P200,000 for the new investment.

Maria went to appointed time and place with police operatives, who arrested Laguna together with two companions in the apartment.

Laguna denied Maria's allegation that he ran away with his investors' money. He also said he plans to set a meeting with his investors to discuss how they could take their money back.

He also told the police that his companions have nothing to do with his business.

According to him, he has some 300 investors, and that 150 to 200 of them are OFWs.

Aside from Maria, four other complainants surfaced at the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Office in Quezon City.

Initially, the police are preparing an estafa case against the suspect, but a syndicated estafa is possible if proven that the group is running a large-scale operation. — LBG, GMA News