A 36-year-old woman was arrested for estafa after allegedly defrauding her childhood friend by issuing bounced checks as payment for luxury bags worth P150,000 in Pasig City.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) National Capital Region Field Unit apprehended the accused, identified as “Aira,” during a manhunt operation in Greenland Village, Barangay Rosario on May 1. She was nabbed by virtue of a warrant of arrest for estafa under Article 315, paragraph 2(d) of the Revised Penal Code, issued by the Pasig City court on April 27, 2026.

Authorities added that the accused was tagged in the PNP E-Warrant System as the No. 9 Most Wanted Person of Pasig.

Based on their investigation, the accused and the victim are childhood friends, and they have known each other since elementary and high school, and they were neighbors in Sampaloc, Manila.

In January 2025, the victim purchased luxury bags and other items from Japan and posted them for sale on her Facebook account. “Aira” then sent her messages expressing interest in the items.

On February 1, 2025, in Pasig City, Aira allegedly defrauded her friend by issuing two checks, dated March 31, 2025, and April 3, 2025, amounting to P75,000 each, as payment for a Louis Vuitton bag obtained from the victim.

Authorities said when deposited, both checks were dishonored by the drawee bank for the reason “Drawn Against Insufficient Funds (DAIF).”

They added that despite receiving notice of dishonor and repeated demands from the victim, the accused failed to settle her obligation or make any payment arrangements, resulting in damage and prejudice to the victim amounting to P150,000.

“At the time of issuance, the accused knew that her account lacked sufficient funds or credit to cover the checks upon presentment,” CIDG said.

It added that with the arrest of the accused, many victims of alleged swindling trooped to the CIDG NCR to file their complaints.