Negros Oriental-Occidental groups to file suit vs Legacy Group

The Legacy Group of companies may have a major headache with two groups of depositors/investors from Negros Oriental and Occidental girding to file suits against the firm for having lured them to invest their hard-earned money in a “double-your-money” scheme.

The first group, headed by lawyer Cesar Distrito, claims that some 44 Negrense Bacolod-based investors had invested a total of P150-million in Legacy.

Another group, represented by counsel Raymundo Mercado, said his group of local businessmen from Negros Oriental intend to recover the principal of their investment in what he described as a variant of the Ponzi scheme.

What he said happened was that the group allegedly defrauds people, takes their money and eventually leaves them with an empty bag.

He estimates that Oriental Negros victims collectively were duped of at least P90 million. Their investments ranged from P200,000 to several millions of pesos, Mercado claimed.

Distrito, on the other hand, claimed that they went to the Securities and Exchange Commission for petitions for the dissolution of at least eight of the 10 companies of Legacy Group. These represented some P150-million of Bacolod investors. But, he said, SEC informed them that the petition had already been dismissed.

The lawyer said his group will now collate all the claims under the pre-need companies of the Legacy Group. They will file the same with the SEC to be included in the distribution of claims from the Trust Fund of the pre-need companies.

Investors, also will file a complaint with the SEC for Legacy’s violation of the SEC code as well as file civil and estafa cases against the officers of the 10 firms under Legacy.

These developments came shortly before yesterday’s scheduled Senate hearing on the pre-need industry to study legislation aimed at ensuring strict monitoring by the government to protect consumers’ investments, said Sen. Mar Roxas.

The Senate Committee on Banks, chaired by Sen. Chiz Escudero, has invited leaders of the pre-need industry, including Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, SEC chair Fe Barin and leaders of the pre-need plant holders.

“We will ask SEC and Finance officials why they did nothing to solve the problem,” was how Sen. Roxas justified the need for a Senate probe into the pre-need firms.

Well, as they say, things explode only when the situation has gotten out of hand and thousands, even millions, are left holding the bag.

And, truth to tell, there many Negrense families who are still awaiting the final chapter of the pre-need snafu that left many of them holding empty bags. Naturally, most of them are still waiting for solution to their financial problems.