PBA players, actor top victims of P2.1-b investment pyramid By Christine F. Herrera MORE than 3,000 investors, including basketball celebrities and an actor, claim to have lost at least P2.1 billion in a currency investment scam allegedly engineered by a Chinese-Filipino businessman based in Bicol.
Officials of Royal Manchester Five Trading Corp. say they could not locate the company’s president, Cyrus Yap Hao, who hails from Pilar, Sorsogon; and Renato San Juan, its vice president for marketing.
Both were said to have fled the country on Tuesday, leaving their investors holding checks that have been dishonored.
RMF records show that its investors placed P2.1 billion in peso and dollar accounts with the company, which holds office on the 15th floor of One San Miguel Condominium on San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas.
Some P400 million in new investments that came in during a company raffle on Feb. 29 have also disappeared.
In that raffle, RMF tapped jazz singer Jaya to entertain the investors, who were offered the chance to win two BMW 320s if they would put in P500,000 to qualify for a raffle ticket. But it turned out the company financed the purchase of only one car; the other could not be claimed by the winner because it had only been reserved for P50,000, according to company insiders who requested anonymity.
The company’s other officers—vice presidents Joesedev Colina, Edwin Rosas and Joseph Bualoy, and vice president for finance Rowena Uy—claim they have also been cheated, but the investors say they do not believe them.
The investors promised to file a “class suit” this week, but refused to reveal their identities until the case is filed.
RMF records show that its celebrity-investors include Ginebra Gin Kings players Rafi Reavis (P8.9 million); Johnny and his wife Mary Ann Abarrientos (P6.9 million, with another P2.5 million from Johnny); Mark Macapagal (P2.5 million), former Purefoods Hotdogs coach Eric Altamirano and his wife Marissa (P1.2 million and P0.889 million, respectively), and Alaska cager Edward Juinio (P7.2 million).
The celebrities with exposure in dollar accounts were Reavis ($330,485.40) and actor Rustom Padilla ($47,000).
One investor, Bayantel executive Carlos Dellarazabal, says he had been receiving checks for P35,000 from RMF in the past 10 months out of his P700,000 placement.
“I have already made P350,000, but I have yet to recover the principal amounting to P700,000,” he said.
Several other people claim they have invested P1 million to P50 million in RMF.
It appeared that a commotion took place at Rosas’ residence after some of RMF’s investors barged in and tried to bring out some of his appliances, forcing him to call the police and later to leave with his family.
Rosas and RMF’s other officers are said to have the biggest exposures in the company. Rosas is said to have put in P12.04 million and $122,000; Colina, P251.86 million and $1.8 million; Renato San Juan, P66.2 million and $300,000; Uy, P1.8 million and $60,000; and Bualoy, P1.6 million.
Hao’s accounts are absent in the list of accounts.
The investors say they were given 3 percent to 10 percent in interest earnings each month and issued post-dated checks, which contained interest good for six months and the option to cash the checks or roll them over for more interest.
They were told their money was being traded in Denmark and other European countries, but their checks started being dishonored at Asia United Bank as early as Feb. 27.
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