PIPC execs face new raps over forex scam
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended the filing of charges of syndicated estafa and violation of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) against officers of the Performance Investment Products Corp. (PIPC) in connection with its multi-million dollar financial scheme.
In two separate resolutions, the DOJ’s panel of investigating prosecutors led by Senior State Prosecutor Philipp Kimpo, recommended the filing of syndicated estafa charges against the PIPC officers.
In the first resolution, which stemmed from a complaint filed by El Paraiso Farms Inc., the DOJ recommended the filing of syndicated estafa against PIPC officers Michael Liew, a Singaporean; Cristina Gonzalez-Tuason; Manuel Gonzalez; and Barbara May Garcia.
El Paraiso filed its complaint against PIPC before the
In its second resolution, the same DOJ panel recommended syndicated estafa charges against Liew, Tuason and Gonzalez due to another complaint, this one filed by Spanish national Jose Picornell also on Dec. 26.
In his complaint, Picornell said Tuason introduced him to PIPC during a lunch meeting she hosted at a
Picornell said Tuason told them about PIPC’s “performance management portfolio,” which she said was an investment program that enables an investor to participate in foreign exchange trading for a minimum of $40,000 (about P2 million at that time). Tuason then said that PIPC guarantees an interest rate of between 12 and 15 percent per annum over an eight-week trading cycle.
Convinced, Picornell and his co-investor, Ma. Del Carmen Legarda, invested $20,000 each in PIPC.
Meanwhile, the DOJ also acted on a complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and recommended the filing of charges for violation of the SRC or Republic Act 8799 against Liew, Tuason, Ma. Cristina Bautista-Jurado, Barbara Garcia, Anthony Kierulf, Eugene Go, Michael Melchor-Nubla, Ma. Pamela Morris, Luis Aragon, Renato Sarmiento, Victor Jose Vergel de Dios, Nicoline Amoranto Mendoza, Jose Tengco III, Oudine Santos and Herley Jesuitas.
In its 24-page complaint, the SEC alleged that the PIPC officers are liable for violating Sections 8 (requirement of registration of securities), 28 (registration of brokers, salesmen and associated persons) and 26 (fraudulent transactions) of the SRC.
The accused PIPC officers, if convicted for violating the SRC, could face imprisonment of not more than 21 years or fined P50,000 to P5 million.
In its complaint with the DOJ, the SEC said the accused connived in hoodwinking investors to entrust their money to PIPC by promising that their investment would be guaranteed and that the maximum amount of loss that their investment would suffer will be limited to 30 percent.
The SEC alleged that the PIPC officers were acting as salesmen “because they were deriving commissions for each sale made” but none of them were duly licensed by the commission.
The National Bureau of investigation had earlier filed estafa charges against the PIPC and its officers before the DOJ.
In its complaint, the NBI said that its investigation showed that there was a “grand conspiracy” on the part of the officers and agents of PIPC to defraud its investors.
Under the PIPC’s financial scheme, investors were required to shell out a minimum of $40,000 with a promise of 12 to 15 percent return on investment annually.
Those who cannot produce the minimum amount were allowed to have partners in order to produce the required minimum investment. The investor is then asked to identify a pair of currencies where he or she would like to place the investments.
However, the investors later learned that Liew had allegedly taken their funds amounting to $250 million and fled the country.
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