Charges to be filed vs. alleged swindler

A woman who allegedly swindled an Australian national of almost P1 million was charged with estafa before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

The National Bureau of Investigation filed the case for violation of Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code against Shiela Gorres Reguero whom it earlier caught in an entrapment operation.

Reguero allegedly demanded P34,000 from Robert Macartney on top of the previous amounts she received from him as supposed capital of their business partnership.

Macartney filed a complaint with the NBI after he found out that Reguero made him believe that their business partnership was doing fine when in fact there was no business at all despite the P760,000 capital he had already given to her.

Macartney claimed that while he was vacationing in Bantayan Island sometime in December 2007, Reguero made a business proposal for a partnership to buy scrap metals from a sunken Japanese vessel.

Reguero reportedly brought with her the alleged owner of the vessel that sank somewhere in San Isidro, Leyte.

Macartney said he was persuaded to finance the business after seeing the deed of sale and other pertinent documents.

Macartney said he issued checks amounting to P300,000 in favor of Reguero last February and another P100,000 last March. The amount excluded the money that he regularly sent to Reguero from Australia via Western Union.

Last month, Macartney said he decided to return to the country to see the project site. However, Reguero allegedly discouraged him from going to Leyte because of security problem. — Fred P. Languido/LPM