DOJ: 8 Japanese fugitives involved in scams deported

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday the deportation of eight Japanese fugitives who were involved in various scams.

DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano said the eight were involved in telephone scams, credit card fraud, and other activities that use cellphones.

“So just like in the Luffy case, they would call, and yung usual target diyan yung mga senior citizen or yung mga hindi masyadong literate sa cellphone and sa credit card,” Clavano said in an ambush interview.

(Just like in the Luffy case, they would call, and the usual targets are senior citizens or those who are not that literate in the use of cellphones and credit cards.)

“Sinasabi nila na kailangan mag deposit sa ganitong account or kailangan magbigay ng personal information sa kanila. And that’s where the scam starts. Na gagamitin nila ‘yung personal information para makakuha sila ng access doon sa mga accounts ng mga vulnerable victims,” he added.

(They would tell targets to deposit in certain accounts or that they needed to disclose personal information. And that’s where the scam starts. They would use their personal information to gain access to the accounts of the vulnerable victims.)

He clarified that the eight are not part of the controversial “Luffy” group.

Clavano further said the four received a deportation order in 2021 but could not be deported due to pending cases.

He said their cases were recently dismissed after the “demanda-me” scheme—where foreign nationals file cases against themselves to avoid being deported—was brought to the attention of prosecutors, immigration officers, and the courts.

“So ngayon, kapag nakikita ng mga korte na may ganon klaseng demanda-me scheme, madalas nadi-dismiss na. So that’s the reason why it is only now na deport itong walo, kaninang umaga dahil wala na silang pending cases,” he said.

(So now, if the courts see that there’s this demanda-me scheme, they would usually dismiss the case. So that’s the reason why these eight Japanese nationals were only deported this morning since they no longer have pending cases.)

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla first bared the scheme during the “Luffy” controversy, where the government sought to deport four Japanese nationals who were suspected of being masterminds of illegal activities in Japan. – VBL, GMA Integrated News