Probers eye gang in Valenzuela tuition scam

MANILA, Philippines - A former student of the Our Lady of Fatima University, arrested last week for allegedly swindling seven students of at least P300,000 tuition, could be part of a gang, an official said yesterday.

Text messages on the cell phone of Victor Zaragosa, 20, indicate he was in contact with an unnamed person after he was arrested, Valenzuela police chief Senior Superintendent Rhoderick Armamento said.

“There is a bigger picture here more than the allegations of swindling. We believe that he could be working for someone or he has a handler. Our investigation is looking in that direction,” Armamento told The STAR, adding that as of yesterday, the complainants increased to nine from the original seven.

Zaragosa’s text messages show he was asking a certain “Ma’am” for help in exchange for not talking to anyone, according to investigators.

“We will fix it, don’t worry. We will try to give back the money to the complainants, just don’t talk,” Armamento said, quoting the messages from the suspect’s phone.

He did not say whether the person Zaragosa had been asking for help was a university employee.

Facilitating payments

Zaragosa’s arrest stemmed from a complaint filed by the father of a marine engineering student, alleging that the suspect swindled his son of more than P25,000.

Reynaldo Ancheta told police he was informed by the school’s guidance counselor, Cipriano de Vera, that his son Janrey, a fourth year student, was not enrolled because he had not paid his tuition for the first semester of this school year.

Ancheta said he gave his son the money to pay the tuition and his son was able to secure all the permits necessary to take the examinations. The school counselor showed Ancheta the school ledger indicating that his son has an outstanding balance dating to the second semester of school year 2013-2014.

Janrey admitted that he and at least eight other students gave the tuition money to Zaragosa, who reportedly promised to facilitate their enrolment and payment of their tuition in November 2013, including the first semester of the school year 2014-2015.

Expelled

The university did not issue an official statement on the alleged tuition scam but one of its officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The STAR that Zaragosa and another student were reportedly expelled last year after several students complained.

The official believes Zaragosa and his group could not have acted alone since the victims were given documents showing their tuition had been paid.

Asked why it took the university some time to discover the scheme, the official said it is not until just before the final examinations that students’ payment records are scrutinized to determine if they have paid all their dues.

The official said the university has changed its enrolment process as a result of the scam.

 “It is very  easy to enroll now because, unlike before when they have to wait in long lines, the students can facilitate their enrolment online,” the source said.