Award-winning actors John Arcilla and Lotlot De Leon shared their candid experiences with scams in a discussion, opening up about their unfortunate encounters.

Both have encountered deceitful schemes in the past that not only affected them financially but also left emotional scars.

John and Lotlot made the revelations during the grand media conference for the upcoming series Sins of the Father, at Gateway 2 in Araneta City on June 13. The drama-action series will air on ABS-CBN primetime beginning June 23.

Noong 90s remember nauso yung pyramiding scam? Millions ang nawala sa family namin at ang nang scam sa amin is yung student ko. (Remember when the pyramiding scam was popular in the 90s? Our family lost millions, and the one who scammed us was my student), said John.

He continued: Student ko siya sa acting so ang tawag niya sa parents ko ay nanay at tatay and sa mga siblings ko kuya at ate. Ganun siya ka close sa amin. (He was my acting student so he called my parents mom and dad and my siblings kuya and ate. He was that close to us.)

In fact ginamit niya yung acting niya sa amin. Buong barangay nila nakuha niya sa school. Pati classmates niya nabiktima niya. (In fact, he used his acting skills on us. He got their entire village and the school involved. He even victimized his classmates.)

Hinabol siya ng ibang victim niya sa scam, and he was tortured by some of his friends in a building. Then tumalon siya ng mga three floors pababa. He was hospitalized for several days pero nakatakas siya. Ngayon ang last na balita namin sa kanya is nagpa-change na siya ng face. Kami ni Eula Valdez ang kasama roon before. (His other victims chased him in the scam, and some of his friends tortured him in a building. Then he jumped three floors down. He was hospitalized for several days, but he managed to escape. The latest news we have about him is that he has changed his appearance. Eula Valdez and I were with him before), said John.

Lotlot, the mother of actress Janine Gutierrez, reported that she was scammed in her food business.

Many years ago, I used to sell boneless bangus (milk fish). Then sumali ako sa food expo. May nag order sa akin P80,000 worth of bangus. (Then I joined the food expo. Someone ordered me P80,000 worth of bangus), she said.

Lotlot added: Binayaran ako ng managers check. So tinanggap naman ng tao ko. Noong tinanggap ng tao ko, so pinik-up ng isang kilalang van. Hindi ko na babanggitin kung ano. (I was paid with a manager's check. So my staff accepted it. When my staff accepted it, a well-known van picked it up. I won't mention what van it was.)

So we went to the bank. Fake ang manager's check. Pero yung account number at pangalan existing sa bank. Pero walang ganung check. (The manager's check is fake. However, the account number and name are registered with the bank. But there is no such check.)

Lotlot said she did not pursue the case anymore. So mag-iingat po kayo. (So be careful).”

Francine revealed that some of her friends were also scammed in investment funds.

Hindi pa naman ako na-scam pero yung ibang kakilala ko na-scam din sa investment funds. Yung iba nanghiram pa ng pera para may maipasok lang sa investment fund na do-doble raw pero biglang mawawala yung mga may ari. Doon ako naaawa. Sila na nga yung nanaggailangan pero sila pa yung naloloko. (I haven't been scammed yet, but other people I know have also been scammed by investment funds. Others even borrowed money just to put something into the investment fund that was supposed to double, but then the owners suddenly disappeared. That's where I feel sorry for them. They're the ones who need it, but they're the ones who get scammed), she said.

Sins of the Father is Gerald Anderson's television comeback. Aside from John, Lotlot, and Francine, also joining the cast are JC De Vera, Jessy Mendiola, Shaina Magdayao, Joko Diaz, RK Bagatsing, Seth Fedelin, Soliman Cruz, Nico Antonio, Jerald Napoles, LA Santos, and Tirso Cruz III.

The new series will be directed by FM Reyes, who was behind the hit series “Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin” and “Linlang,” and Bjoy Balagtas, who was one of the directors of “Nag-Aapoy Na Damdamin.”

It will be produced by JRB Creative Production, under the leadership of its business unit head, Julie Anne R. Benitez, and creative manager, Dindo Perez.