Bogus cop caught in Valenzuela

A man who posed as a cop and preyed on nursing students was arrested in an entrapment operation in Valenzuela City Friday.

Reynaldo Velardo, 59, allegedly introduced himself as a policeman who has the power, connections and influence to fix failing grades in exchange for a fee. Desperate graduating students quickly fell for the scam but have since regretted believing the suspect, police said.

The complainants, senior nursing students of Fatima University, said Velardo charged them P2,000 per person. They said the suspect tricked them into paying a total of P27,000 before he was discovered.

Police officers arrested Velardo as soon as he received the P2,000 marked money in the school cafeteria at around 8 a.m. Friday. They confiscated the marked money, a Philippine National Police identification card issued to Police Officer 1 Michael Teodoro Dumaran that bore Velardo’s photo, and a PNP identification card issued to Senior Inspector Ricardo Fidelino.

Velardo’s claims were later proven false. Police are set to charge him with usurpation of authority, robbery and estafa. – Jerry Botial