A lawyer who allegedly duped at least 27 people through a fraudulent investment scam was arrested in Quezon City on Wednesday night.
The 31-year-old suspect, whom police identified only as Joy, was arrested during a sting in a restaurant along Timog Avenue at 7:45 p.m., according to a report from the Project 4 Police Station 8.
Police served the warrant of arrest for estafa against the lawyer, issued by a court in Santiago City in Isabela, as she appeared for a meeting with one of the complainants.
Lt. Col. Joe Leanza, Station 8 commander, said one of the complainants lost P300,000 to the suspect who allegedly hid for eight months from the victims.
Leanza said police acted on the information and assisted the complainant in setting up a business meeting with the lawyer.
‘We set up the meeting with the lawyer and one of the victims under the pretense that she is going to make an additional investment,’ Leanza said.
He said other victims complained that they were lured into investing in the lawyer’s trucking service after they were allegedly promised P5,600 in weekly earnings.
According to Leanza, the victims started having doubts when the suspect could no longer deliver on her promises.
‘She is a lawyer, so (the victims) did not question her credibility,’ Leanza said in Filipino over News5.
The court set the bail for the suspect’s temporary liberty at P36,000.