4 fake insurance agents arrested in Caloocan

MANILA, Philippines - Four persons claiming to be insurance agents were arrested yesterday in north Caloocan City for swindling a 61-year-old woman into paying for a non-existent health care insurance policy.

Bagong Silang police station chief Superintendent Carlito Dimalanta said suspects Josephine Evangelista, 45; Albert Florida, 28; Krystoffer Luigi Mari Delos Reyes Tiu, 20; and Raymond Cabsag Simon, all of Dela Costa Graceville, San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan, were charged yesterday for large-scale estafa before the city prosecutors’ office. The crime is non-bailable under existing laws.

Dimalanta said the suspects claimed to be underwriters for Chartis Philippines Insurance, Inc. – formerly known as AIU Insurance (Philippines) Company, Inc. – with offices in Makati. The company is the operations arm in the Philippines of worldwide property-casualty and general insurance giant Chartis Inc.

Police investigators said according to the firm, the suspects were not authorized to collect anything from their clients.

The four suspects allegedly enticed Rosalina Odo of Tala, north Caloocan to take out a one-year health insurance policy, for which she initially paid P22,600.

The policy Odo paid for later turned out to be assigned to another person. Despite her demands for the suspects to give her the papers for the policy, they failed to deliver.

Odo filed a complaint before the police, who set up an entrapment. The suspects tried to offer the same plan to Odo’s son, Patrick, 24, who asked them for a meeting.

Senior Police Officer 4 Danilo Salas, who led the operation, told The STAR the entrapment took place at around 3 p.m. Wednesday at Odo’s house.

As soon as the suspects took the marked money, Salas, together with Police Officers 3 Julian Chavez, George Ortega and PO1 Rommel Mante, arrested them.

Salas said other victims have surfaced and told them the suspects allegedly operated in Caloocan, Quezon City and in the province of Cavite.

Dimalanta urged other alleged victims to file charges against the suspects.