BAGUIO CITY – Police arrested two individuals for allegedly swindling a man from this city looking to lease a condominium in Taguig City.
Col. Maria Theresa Guinto-Pucay, chief of the Philippine National Police-Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit-Cordillera, identified the suspects as Leny Sierda, 37, and Michael Bondoc, 25.
The 23-year-old victim met Serda who introduced herself as “Bredan Maxwell” while he was searching for a condominium to lease in a website.
Sierda offered a condominium in Barangay Ususan to the victim. He agreed to rent the unit and sent down payment totaling P71,500 to the suspects through online fund transfers.
However, the suspects blocked the victim after receiving the money. The victim filed a complaint with the police who tracked Sierda in San Pedro City, Laguna on Monday, Jan. 23, and Bondoc in Angeles City, Pampanga the following day.
Pucay said the suspects were listed as the Top 1 most wanted persons of the RACU-Cordillera and arrested on a warrant issued by Presiding Judge Rufus G. Malecdan Jr., Branch 60, Regional Trial Court here for violating Article 315 (Swindling/Estafa) in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).
Bondoc is detained at the Baguio City police headquarters while Sierda was able to post bail.