People tied to investment scheme nabbed in Baguio

By VG Cabuag @villygc

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the arrest of several people selling securities without the required license during an event called “Real EsTea Talk” held in a hotel on Legarda Road, Baguio City.

The SEC said through a statement that members of its Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) also served a cease-and-desist order it issued last June 10 against Baguio-based Casa Infini Builders and Realty Co. Ltd. and its affiliated companies.

The SEC said members of its EIPD were backed up by personnel of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, the Regional AntiCybercrime Unit Cordillera and the Baguio City Police Office.

The SEC said the joint operation led to the arrest of Jennylyn Galletes De Los Santos Floresca, together with 24 other agents, partners and employees.

The SEC also filed a complaint charging Floresca and those arrested for violating the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) and Republic Act (RA) 11765 (Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection, or FCPA, law in relation to RA 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

The criminal complaint led to the indictment of Floresca, together with three others for violation of the SRC and FCPA per resolution issued by the Baguio City prosecutor during the inquest proceedings.

“[Evidence] shows that there is reasonable ground to hold respondents Floresca, Ruhhiya Ymana, Jerick Sadernas and Jacqueline Melchor liable for violations of Sections 8, 26 and 28 of the [SRC] for their acts of offering securities without the required registration statement duly filed with and approved by the SEC, for investment fraud, and for soliciting investments without license,” read the partial disposition by the Baguio City Office of the City Prosecutor.

The SEC issued the order against the Casa Infini group, including Ray Education Directions Consultancy Services, Casa Infini Realty Management Co. Ltd., Ray International Philippines Corp., Be Unrivaled Productions Inc. and Sine Cordillera and Casa Infini Properties and Development Corp. for unauthorized investment solicitation activities.

The entities identify Floresca as either a partner or incorporator. Floresca has also been the subject of an earlier cease-and-desist order issued by the SEC on March 16 for casino junket financing operations. The order included Hector Liao Pantollana, Horizon Players Club, Philippine National eSports League and other Baguio City residents collectively known in social media as “Team Z.”

The groups were found to have enticed the public to invest in their alleged real estate projects in Baguio City either as a buyer-investor or partner financier. The latter were promised a guaranteed monthly interest rate of 4.5 percent for 12 months, equivalent to 54 percent per year.

During the “Real EsTea Talk” event, Casa Infini persuaded more than 700 into its investment scheme, according to the SEC. Operatives during the event witnessed the actual placement of funds amounting to hundreds of thousands of pesos from 19 would-be investors.

Casa Infini and Casa Infini Realty Management are registered partnerships with the SEC while Ray International Philippines and Casa Infini Properties and Development are registered corporations. Ray Education is a sole proprietorship registered with the Department of Trade and Industry.

The groups, however, have never been issued a secondary license that would authorize them to offer or sell investments to the public.

Secret Mommy

THE politician and the semi-retired actress were an item for a number of years. Eventually, they lived together and had a baby. After they broke up, the politician made sure the actress would be well taken care of. The actress is now dating a controversial celebrity but she still hasn’t revealed to the public that she’s a mom. It’s not that she’s ashamed of her child. She just wants to know and experience what’s like to see other people. She also doesn’t want her child to be exposed to any sort of publicity. She herself stopped working so that she could concentrate on taking care of her child. Now that she and the politician are no longer together, the actress still hasn’t publicly disclosed that she is a mother, even if it’s an open secret.

IT’S ABOUT TIME

THE young actress has finally ended her celebrated romance with a non-showbiz guy and there are a lot of speculations about what really happened. One story goes that she found videos of him with another woman on his phone. Yet another story alleges that he spent an important day with another woman instead of the young actress. What’s clear though is that he seems to have betrayed her. What’s even clearer is that her fans are celebrating the end of this romance. They’ve always felt that the guy wasn’t good enough for the young actress, and that she deserves better. They just wish that she would concentrate on her career instead of her love life.

His Own Career

THIS guy, who’s an internet celebrity, seems very standoffish but it looks like he’s just putting up a defensive front. He’s always so annoyed when people ask him about his superstar wife and their child because he doesn’t want people to think that he is using them in his own work. So if you’ve seen footages of him answering questions at press conferences, you’ll see that he really gets annoyed when asked about his wife and child. The guy is a celebrity in his own right and he doesn’t want to be just his wife’s husband. He wants his career separate from his wife’s and that’s understandable.

Happy And Content

IT’S a good thing that the actress and her rich husband finally had a baby because without a child, she would be trapped in a loveless marriage. As it is now, she is very happy and content unlike a few years back when she was listless and discontented. She was unsure where the marriage was headed. But the baby saved her because it gave her direction. The actress’ husband is years older than her and she didn’t know it when she married him but he is a drug addict who can spend days in a stupor. He wasn’t cruel or anything like that to her. He was just unattentive. The baby changed all that. The husband became more attentive and present in the marriage, so for now the actress is happy.