A man suspected of being involved in a so-called “annulment scam” has been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in an entrapment operation in Quezon City.
The NBI identified in a statement the suspect as Mark Figueras who was arrested by agents of the NBI National Capital Region (NBI-NCR) during an entrapment operation that was conducted last March 20.
Following his arrest, the NBI said Figueras was presented for inquest before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office for estafa and falsification of public documents under the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
The bureau said the NBI-NCR acted on the complaint of a female victim who said that Figueras took from her P500,000 already in exchange for having her marriage annulled.
The complainant said Figueras told her that the annulment procedure has been finished, and assured her that her marriage has been annulled.
As proof, the victim recounted Figueras gave her a “trial memorandum” issued by a court in Zambales.
“However, the OIC (officer-in-charge) Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court of Iba Zambales issued a certification revealing that there is no existing Civil Case for annulment filed under the name of the Complainant and her husband,” the NBI said.
“Furthermore, there is no existing RTC Branch 72 in Iba, Zambales and that there is no ‘Judge Federico Peralla Sr.’ in any of the RTCs in Iba, Zambales,” it added.
The NBI said Figueras told the complainant “to be ready for oath taking before the Office of the Solicitor General in Intramuros, Manila, which was set on March 18, 2024.”
After the “oath taking” was reset to March 20 in Quezon City, the bureau said operatives of NBI-NCR hatched an entrapment operation that led to the arrest of Figueras.