Banker in P5-B scam arrested

Authorities arrested yesterday a woman banker who allegedly pulled a P5-billion swindle on thousands of soldiers and policemen through a fraudulent investment scheme.

Maria Teresa Santos, head of the family-run MTST Trading which has been accused of the "pyramid scam," was arrested in Quezon City following a nationwide manhunt, Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Chief Superintendent Eduardo Matillano said.

The suspect had "gypped over 12,000 policemen, military personnel, National Bureau of Investigation agents and civilians to the tune of over P5 billion," Matillano said.

Six accomplices were arrested earlier this year while four others are still being sought by police, including Santos’ husband Orlando Santos.

A "pyramid scam" is an investment swindle in which some early investors are paid off with money put up by later ones in order to encourage more and bigger risks.

The woman’s lawyer, Rey Campanilla, told reporters that his client "is willing to return the money, and the money is intact."

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina urged Congress to pass new legislation to "give more teeth to existing laws against this kind of business activity."

Lina presented Santos before media, noting that she has been charged with qualified estafa by at least two complainants.

Santos was arrested by agents of the CIDG, Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (Pacer), Philippine National Police Intelligence Group and the DILG around 6:30 a.m. at a Quezon City apartelle yesterday.

The raiding team was led by Chief Inspector Vicente Medenilla, who happened to be one of Santos’ victims.

"We have been tailing her from Zambales to Baguio City. We ended (up) in Quezon City, where we cordoned the place to ensure her arrest," he said.

Santos was arrested after almost a month of continuous intelligence gathering, surveillance and monitoring, police said.

The arrest came after policemen monitored Santos contacting some journalists in Metro Manila to expose certain PNP personnel who tried to extort money from her in exchange for her freedom.

Police accused Santos of using her vast financial resources to evade arrest and counter the efforts of the PNP through a black propaganda campaign using the media.

Medenilla said he invested P20 million in February last year with a promise of a 20 percent monthly return on investment from MTST.

Since then, Medenilla regularly received a return on investment of P4 million a month until October. Bank checks started to bounce in November, around the time when the MTST’s pyramid scheme began to crumble.

Medenilla said he has yet to collect some P43 million from Santos, P30 million of which is supposed to go to his investment "riders," composed of his relatives and some close friends.

Chief Superintendent Charlemagne Alejandrino, CIDG deputy director, said he was also lured into the investment scheme.

"I only invested a small amount," he told reporters when asked how much he lost to the pyramid scam.

Two weeks ago, six of Santos’ cohorts were also arrested in a series of crackdowns by the CIDG. Among those nabbed was Vanessa Santos Manalastas, MTST manager, who conducted business at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City. — Christina Mendez, AFP