63 nabbed in scam hub raid in Pasig

MANILA, Philippines — Criminal cases have been filed against 63 people who were arrested during a raid on a suspected online investment scam hub in Ortigas, Pasig, the police Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) reported yesterday.

The suspects, including a 55-year-old foreigner, are facing a string of cases for allegedly duping victims, mostly senior citizens with pensions, through fraudulent investments.

The suspects were charged with violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act, Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Law, Securities Regulation Code, Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act and Article 178 of the Revised Penal Code for using fictitious names.

ACG chief Maj. Gen. Wilson Asueta said police raided XTrade in a building in Barangay San Antonio on May 20.

Asueta said XTrade uses the images of celebrities to entice potential victims to invest.

“They have fake advertisements. They are faking the pictures of celebrities,” Asueta said at a news briefing at Camp Crame.

Of the 63 suspects, 28 are women and 35 are men.

Asueta refused to disclose the foreigner’s name and nationality.

Police said the other suspects were involved in the company’s operations, marketing and sales.

Each victim was required to invest P6,500, with the scam hub promising a bigger return of investment.

Police said they were manipulated into continuously depositing money and controlled withdrawal requests, creating the illusion of legitimate trading activities.

Asueta said XTrade falsely represented itself as a call center and trading-related company.

The ACG found out the company is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and not authorized to solicit investments.

An investigation showed that the leader of the group has a pending warrant of arrest issued by a Pasig court for 70 counts of violation of the National Internal Revenue Code.

Asueta said XTrade has been operating for about 10 years.