NBI links ex-PBA cager Jondan Salvador, 4 others to rent-a-car scam

The National Bureau of Investigation has filed carnapping complaints against former PBA player Jondan Salvador and several others in connection with the unauthorized sale of P21 million worth of cars through a car rental scam.

Aside from the former Barako Bull forward, also facing carnapping charges before the Muntinlupa City Prosecutor's Office are Veronica Berquillo, Jonathan Paredes, Sarah Martinez and Kim Avee Yu, a cousin of the former professional cager.

According to Attorney Manuel Eduarte, head of the NBI Anti-Organized Transnational Crime Division, Paredes and Martinez used their connections in the car industry to entice victims to have their brand new cars be used in a Berquillo's rental business.

The modus involved promises of high rentals that would more than cover the cost of monthly amortization and, thus, generate profits for the car owners.

Berquillo, however, failed to deliver on the promised returns in December.

The victims later learned that the Salvador and Yu facilitated the unauthorized sale of the cars with the use of fake identification cards of their real owners.

The respondents pointed to Berquillo as the only person involved in the crime and said that they, too, were victims.

The NBI, however, found evidence that even they benefitted from the scam. -Mark Meruenas/NB, GMA News