Making a case for estafa

Long story short.

US National. Met a girl online. Known for a number of years through correspondence and online web chats with cam through YM!. Eventually asked for financial help with the promise to pay it back. Wired money. Over the next two years, asked for more help. I suggested that maybe it would be better for her to come to the US where I could take care of her, she agreed. Talk of marriage. Come to find out that she is married already with a child. Have many wire receipts along with correspondence agreeing to marry (or to pay me back). I have a phone number and name (no address). Through my own investigation, I was able to find her husband's name and employment, child's name and date of birth, and last known address. I am able to tie the phone number to her. However, I understand the burden will be to prove that she is the person I have been in contact with.

Do I have a case for estafa (looking at Php500K minimum)? And if so, how thin or how solid would my evidence be (or have to be)?

i was once asked by an indian national with a similar situation. i advised this is not the usual estafa, but there is a lighter form of estafa called 'other deceiits' but it is still considered a crime.

i recommended that he get her on video chat so he could record her image.

this cyber begging is terribly shameful and puts my countrymen in a bad light. hope you will pursue a case.

So instead of Chapter 6, Art. 315 of the penal code, I would be looking at Art. 318 - Other Deceits?

And what would I need for my case to present as strong evidence? I have emails with photos, instant message logs, texts, call and text logs to her phone number, and wire transfer receipts (I even have a bank account number). What I don't have, is a current address, which I am currently working on acquiring. I am definitely pursuing this, but I want to make sure I have everything in order so I am not wasting more money.

Salamat for your advice.

art. 315 is very specific in the ways estafa is committed. pretending to be single and liking you is not exactly within the ways estafa under this article is committed. criminal statutes are interpreted strictly in favor of the accused. if there is any doubt as to the applicability, then it is resolved in favor or the accused. to my mind this is more like other deceits.

much of your evidence is in electronic format so you should be aware of how to present electronic evidence. the problem with emails with photos is that she may not be the one in the attachment. this is why i recommend recording a live video chat.

they are no longer in the last known address? the husband no longer employed in the company? do you have someone here investigating for you?

So I would need video evidence to prove that she is who she says she is? My case is really built around the phone number given to me as a contact to her as well as the wire transfers, because ID is needed to pick up the money. If I can get her back on video, I'm sure I can get a recording. The emails are specific in that promises were made to repay me until I posed the option of marriage, in which that was agreed upon. Most of my own investigation started with the phone number which lead to a lot of discovery. I know I can confirm that the pictures match the face I've seen through web chats, but I know that turns into my word over hers.

I'm hiring an investigator to find and confirm that it is her (I feel she was using both her maiden and married names) and her current address. I cannot prove the husband is involved, but I was able to find out his place of employ on my own and it is pretty clear that it is a family owned business. I'm gathering as much information as I can so that when presented to an investigator, it should not take much to track her down. Like I said previously, I understand my burden is to prove that she is who she said she is and that she took my assistance under fraudulent pretenses. I would think that would be the defense's main argument.

I had read over the Art. 315 many times and wondered how that would apply to me, and Art. 318 seemed the likeliest.

Thanks again for your time and honesty.

good luck to you. i know investigators can be very expensive. i sometimes use moonlighting cops myself.

Just to follow up.

I followed your advice and was able to record our recent webcam conversation as a video file. I was also able to deduce her current address from recent pictures and location maps to a specific condo unit between 2 different floors.

At this point, I assume it's a matter of presenting all of this to my attorney and filing.

Thanks again for your advice.

oh, what a very interesting case you have! please keep us updated.

do you already have proof that she is actually married? you will need the marriage certificate. i recommend that a demand letter be sent first.

i made an online transaction at tipidpc.com with a certain woman from benguet baguio (im from davao btw), over a nikon d40 dslr camera worth 14k. it's kinda cheap coz it's a preloved item. so as her terms state:30% downpayment by the buyer and upon receipt of the downpayment,seller will ship the item right away.Balance of 70% shall be made after the buyer received the shipped item.then we exchanged our info details like our names and complete address in case one of us did not comply.But after the culprit seller received the money i deposited via electronic transfer,i suddenly couldnt reach her 2 numbers anymore.I have her complete name, address, the email logs of our transaction,picture of the item she posted for sale,the receipt from globe gcash that i deposited the said money in her sister's account. she gave me her smartpadala account but considering dec. 25 was a holiday,the same was offline.so she decided to use her sister's account on globe gcash.that was where i successfully deposited my payment.and she confirmed to me that she received the same via confirmation from globe.Now im planning to complain with the NBI and report her to the PNP for record purposes.i want to file a case for estafa also against her to stop this kind of people from misrepresenting a genuine online sale. i will make a request from globe to provide me a document proving that my culprit seller actually witdrew the money from them.please help if i am on the right track.thank u so much...

baying, you are on the right track. i recommend you immediately report the matter to gcash, and then to the nbi, specifically the ecommerce division.

thank u so much!!!Im going to globe center and nbi tomorrow.

Is there a time limit to file an estafa case? i mean up to when is the max and min months after it happened? coz im staying abroad, how can i pursue a case against someone? please need your advice on this.. thanks...

it depends how much was taken and how it was taken