Two persons have been arrested for estafa and falsification of public documents in the “bogus” sale of a property at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City for a down payment of P20 million in the P906 million “transaction.”
Arrested and charged by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation’s Special Action Unit (NBI-SAU) were Ma. Fe Velasquez Cruz and Jose Peralta Pabustan.
Cruz and Pabustan were arrested inside the office of Wilcon Corporation in Quezon City last June 12.
The NBI said that also named as co-respondents in the charges were Erl Masangcay, Rosemarie Solema, Prescilla Sanga and Noel Banzuelo.
NBI Officer-in-Charge Director Eric B. Distor said the case arose from the complaint filed by the president and chief executive officer of Wilcon Corporation.
The NBI, in a statement, said that Wilcon was approached and asked in November last year if it was interested in purchasing a property at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig City for P906 million.
It said that during negotiations, Banzuelo, Solema and Sanga introduced themselves as BGC property brokers and even presented a transfer certificate title (TCT) of the property and an authority to sell that was signed by Gerovy Vincent King, the supposed president of Shefa Basilea, Inc.
It was Masangcay who arranged for the hiring of a lawyer to draft a letter of acceptance in connection with Wilcon’s letter of intent to buy the property, the NBI said.
Later, it said, Cruz met with the chairman of Wilcon by introducing herself as Guinevere Regine King Villavicencio, the supposed chairperson of the board of directors of Shefa Basilea, Inc.
After reaching agreement for the purchase of the property, Wilcon issued a check for P20 million payable to Shefa as initial payment.
“In June 2021, complainant learned about the fraud being committed by the group of Subject CRUZ when a real state advisor and broker for Wilcon reviewed the file regarding the BGC property being purchased by Wilcon,” the NBI said.
“The said real state advisor and broker verified from the spouse of the real GUINEVERE REGINE KING VILLAVICENCIO that the BGC property is not for sale,” it added.
Wilcon sought the NBI’s assistance.