Can I file for estafa case against this individual?

Hi Po sa inyung lahat! Especially sa mga admin at sa mga members dito.

Patulong po sana ako at need ko po advice niyo mga attorneys

Kami po ay subscriber ng internet connection ng globe. Isang araw may taong ng-offer samin at sabi nya, sya ay isang authorize sales agent ng globe yung ngpaprocess ng mga application ng internet connection. Tumawag siya samin at inexplain kung ano ang mga proseso at mga produkto nila. Ilang araw din kaming ngtetext nitong agent nato, at tumatawag pa kung nakapagdecide na ba kami na mag-apply ng change of plan ng internet connection sa globe. Isang araw ng magpasya kami na sa kanya mag-apply ng internet connection, pumunta sya sa aming bahay, dahil galing pa sya trabaho niya at medyo malayo layo rin ang kanilang office. Pagdating niya sa bahay, inexplain niya ulit ang produkto at inilabas ang mga application forms. nakadamit naman sya ng pangglobe at may id naman. Inabot namin bayad sa kanya at ng-isyu siya ng provisionary receipt at kinuha mga docs(personal info) for application ng internet. Ilang araw nakalipas, halos di na kami nirereplyan at sabi niya maghintay lang raw ng 3 araw. 2 araw na lumipas wala parin. Pagpunta namin sa globe office nila, napag-alaman namin na di sya konektado doon. So parang, na scam kami nitong taong to.

Pwede ba kami makapagfile ng estafa na case laban sa kanya na di namin alam kung saan sya exactly nakatira sa kanilang lungsod?
Salamat po sa inyung tulong

Sana may sumagot sa tanong ko. Salamat po.

Gusto ko rin po magdagdag ng question related to this post. Sa company po namin may part time book keeper po kami na nag aayos ng doc at forms of payments sa mga benefits ng staff po namin. Yung admin staff po namin na responsible sa pag bibigay ng payment sa kanya ay nagbigay po sa kanya ng cash 5 x for 5 months every last week of the month for SSS, Pag ibig, Philhealth at Tax including loan payments. After 5 months nafound out po namin na wala po naihulog sa loob ng 5 months dahil sa nag aaply po ako ng SSS loans dipo ako nakaloan dahil wala po pala payment ang SSS ko ng previous 5 months. Now po nung vinerify po namin lahat wala po nahuhulog sa lahat, then nung ask namin book keeper na pinagkatiwalaan, nung ask po ng company nmin yung mga recibo ng payments sabi po nya ginagawa pa nya. Ganun po lagi sabi nya hanggang sa umamin din po sya na yun daw pong utusan nya na maghulog sa bank ay niloko daw po sya at itinakbo yung pera at dina daw po nya mahanap kung nasaan. Nangako po sya na babayaran at huhulugan nya unti unti at sya po mananagot pati sa penalty. Pero ilang buwan npo nakalipas wala pa rin po, kapag tinatawagan po lagi po nya sagot inaayos napo nya, hanggang sa dumating ang time na nagagalit napo company namin at pinuntahan po sa address na binigay nya pero walang nakatira na ganun sa name nya at di sya kilala doon, hanggang sa dina po sya makontak ng company namin dipo sumasagot dipo nagrereply kahit nagriring ang cp nya. May mga documents pa po ang company namin sa kanya. Pwede po ba namin sya sampahan ng estafa kahit dipo namin alam kung saan sya nakatira? Paano kaya ang gagawing action ng company namin. Malaking halaga po ang nakuha nya more than 100k, please we need advice and we will appreciate much po sa makakatulong ng legal advice.

Grandmaster0615 wrote:Hi Po sa inyung lahat! Especially sa mga admin at sa mga members dito.

Patulong po sana ako at need ko po advice niyo mga attorneys

Kami po ay subscriber ng internet connection ng globe. Isang araw may taong ng-offer samin at sabi nya, sya ay isang authorize sales agent ng globe yung ngpaprocess ng mga application ng internet connection. Tumawag siya samin at inexplain kung ano ang mga proseso at mga produkto nila. Ilang araw din kaming ngtetext nitong agent nato, at tumatawag pa kung nakapagdecide na ba kami na mag-apply ng change of plan ng internet connection sa globe. Isang araw ng magpasya kami na sa kanya mag-apply ng internet connection, pumunta sya sa aming bahay, dahil galing pa sya trabaho niya at medyo malayo layo rin ang kanilang office. Pagdating niya sa bahay, inexplain niya ulit ang produkto at inilabas ang mga application forms. nakadamit naman sya ng pangglobe at may id naman. Inabot namin bayad sa kanya at ng-isyu siya ng provisionary receipt at kinuha mga docs(personal info) for application ng internet. Ilang araw nakalipas, halos di na kami nirereplyan at sabi niya maghintay lang raw ng 3 araw. 2 araw na lumipas wala parin. Pagpunta namin sa globe office nila, napag-alaman namin na di sya konektado doon. So parang, na scam kami nitong taong to.

Pwede ba kami makapagfile ng estafa na case laban sa kanya na di namin alam kung saan sya exactly nakatira sa kanilang lungsod?
Salamat po sa inyung tulong

Sana may sumagot sa tanong ko. Salamat po.

Yes you can but the problem is the concerned Prosecutor's Office cannot serve the subpoena to him since you don't have his address. And if the subpoena is not served the case will not run its course since the Office did not acquire jurisdiction over his person. The case will only be archived and all your efforts, time, and money will be put to waste.

Best thing to do is do a little research first on this guy. Try searching him on Facebook or other social medias. Or call BIR and ask for the TIN and address of the person. Usually BIR has records of taxpayers' respective address. Start there.

Btw, have you reported the incident to your barangay or to the nearest police station? If not, report it immediately and secure a copy of the report. This report is called a barangay or police blotter. You can use it as evidence in your case.

Also, collate all documents such as the provisional receipt issued, your sms exchanges, the application form (if you have a copy), and other relevant documents that will bolster your case. If I may ask, does the provisional receipt contain any information about the company which issued it? Was it an official provisional receipt, one which is registered with the BIR or just a bogus provisional receipt?  You can also start your research on the person by scrutinizing the PR he issued. Company name, TIN of the Company, Telephone number, address. These info should be on the receipt.

If you can find a company name on the receipt, you can go to SEC iView to get other details on the company like its latest General Information Sheet, where you can find information on the Board of Directors of the company, their TINS and their respective address. The GIS also contains the list of stockholders of the company. Call SEC to inquire about SEC iView or visit their website.

Hope this helps and be safe! Be cautious next time! Call and verify first with the company the person says he is affiliated with before parting with your trust and money. But hey, try looking at the bright side of this unfortunate event. At least, what the guy took is only money and not life! May God be with you!

channela wrote:Gusto ko rin po magdagdag ng question related to this post. Sa company po namin may part time book keeper po kami na nag aayos ng doc at forms of payments sa mga benefits ng staff po namin. Yung admin staff po namin na responsible sa pag bibigay ng payment sa kanya ay nagbigay po sa kanya ng cash 5 x for 5 months every last week of the month for SSS, Pag ibig, Philhealth at Tax including loan payments. After 5 months nafound out po namin na wala po naihulog sa loob ng 5 months dahil sa nag aaply po ako ng SSS loans dipo ako nakaloan dahil wala po pala payment ang SSS ko ng previous 5 months. Now po nung vinerify po namin lahat wala po nahuhulog sa lahat, then nung ask namin book keeper na pinagkatiwalaan, nung ask po ng company nmin yung mga recibo ng payments sabi po nya ginagawa pa nya. Ganun po lagi sabi nya hanggang sa umamin din po sya na yun daw pong utusan nya na maghulog sa bank ay niloko daw po sya at itinakbo yung pera at dina daw po nya mahanap kung nasaan. Nangako po sya na babayaran at huhulugan nya unti unti at sya po mananagot pati sa penalty. Pero ilang buwan npo nakalipas wala pa rin po, kapag tinatawagan po lagi po nya sagot inaayos napo nya, hanggang sa dumating ang time na nagagalit napo company namin at pinuntahan po sa address na binigay nya pero walang nakatira na ganun sa name nya at di sya kilala doon, hanggang sa dina po sya makontak ng company namin dipo sumasagot dipo nagrereply kahit nagriring ang cp nya. May mga documents pa po ang company namin sa kanya. Pwede po ba namin sya sampahan ng estafa kahit dipo namin alam kung saan sya nakatira? Paano kaya ang gagawing action ng company namin. Malaking halaga po ang nakuha nya more than 100k, please we need advice and we will appreciate much po sa makakatulong ng legal advice.

Hi pls refer to the earlier post on the issue of unknown address.

Btw, do you have documents to prove that you gave the person money for the payment of the SSS contributions? and evidence to prove that he has in fact received such amount? Start first by collating all the evidence that you can gather to prove the following:

1. That you have given him money in trust for the purpose of paying the SSS contribution;

2. That he received such money (and documents) with the understanding that he received it in trust for the purpose of paying the SSS contribution;

3. That despite such receipt, no payments were ever made by the person with the SSS.

You also need to have the person who gave the money and documents execute an affidavit stating such circumstances. After you have collated all the documentary evidence, seek a lawyer. There are lawyers and law firms which do not charge fees for initial consultation  

As discussed in my earlier post, search him on Facebook or other social medias. Try calling BIR too and ask for the person's TIN and address.

Hope this helps! You know it is easy now to pay SSS premiums and loans. There are other facilities that you can personally use, without the need of intermediaries, for easy transactions. I believe you can now do it online. Try calling SSS and inquire on the matter.

Have you paid the premiums which were not paid by the person complained of? If not, you should immediately pay the same. Although it is not your company which appropriated the money, you can still be faulted based on negligence. Those amounts were deducted from the employees' salaries and it is your obligation, as their employer, to remit the same promptly. One complaint from one employee will trigger lots of problems. The officers managing the company may be held criminally liable for non-remittance of SSS premiums and loan payments deducted from employees' salaries. Be very careful.

May the force be with you!

thank you very much po sa advice Atty. mrs_scofield, very helpful po ang reply nyo. In addition to my question, Nakipagcommunicate napo uli sya, at humihingi po ng patawad, ask ko lang po kung sakali pong magpakita po sya at sabihing wala po talaga sya pambayad at makiusap na idaan sa usapan pwede po kaya namin idaan sa agreement nalng po na babayaran nya ng installment ang through notarized agreement na kapag dipo nya nabayaran ayon sa napagkasunduan ay saka po namin sya kakasuhan? Kasi po kung sakali idemanda po namin tapos ganuon din po kalabasan na wala po sya pambayad, tapos makukulong po ba sya? nakakaawa naman po, kaya kung may iba pa po paraan na mabigyan sya ng chance na magbayad pero may provision na pwede sya makasuhan kapag di nya nabayaran kahit installment. Salamat po muli sa additional answer sa tanong ko po. salamat po ng marami. God bless po.

With regards to the following, Mrs_scofield

Documents to prove that We gave the person money for the payment of the SSS contributions? and evidence to prove that he has in fact received such amount? Start first by collating all the evidence that you can gather to prove the following:

1. That you have given him money in trust for the purpose of paying the SSS contribution;
YES PO
2. That he received such money (and documents) with the understanding that he received it in trust for the purpose of paying the SSS contribution; YES PO

3. That despite such receipt, no payments were ever made by the person with the SSS. YES PO

You also need to have the person who gave the money and documents execute an affidavit stating such circumstances. After you have collated all the documentary evidence, seek a lawyer. There are lawyers and law firms which do not charge fees for initial consultation. YES PO we will do it
As discussed in my earlier post, search him on Facebook or other social medias. Try calling BIR too and ask for the person's TIN and address. Nakipagcommunicate napo sya now, pero dipa rin po namin alam ang residence nya, nagrerent lang daw po somewhere in Manila, we are from Cavite

Hope this helps! You know it is easy now to pay SSS premiums and loans. There are other facilities that you can personally use, without the need of intermediaries, for easy transactions. I believe you can now do it online. Try calling SSS and inquire on the matter. Thanks po for this info

Have you paid the premiums which were not paid by the person complained of?   We are making a way to pay it soon  If not, you should immediately pay the same.   Although it is not your company which appropriated the money, you can still be faulted based on negligence. Those amounts were deducted from the employees' salaries and it is your obligation, as their employer, to remit the same promptly. One complaint from one employee will trigger lots of problems. The officers managing the company may be held criminally liable for non-remittance of SSS premiums and loan payments deducted from employees' salaries. Be very careful. Thanks again for this reminder

channela wrote:thank you very much po sa advice Atty. mrs_scofield, very helpful po ang reply nyo. In addition to my question, Nakipagcommunicate napo uli sya, at humihingi po ng patawad, ask ko lang po kung sakali pong magpakita po sya at sabihing wala po talaga sya pambayad at makiusap na idaan sa usapan pwede po kaya namin idaan sa agreement nalng po na babayaran nya ng installment ang through notarized agreement na kapag dipo nya nabayaran ayon sa napagkasunduan ay saka po namin sya kakasuhan? Kasi po kung sakali idemanda po namin tapos ganuon din po kalabasan na wala po sya pambayad, tapos makukulong po ba sya? nakakaawa naman po, kaya kung may iba pa po paraan na mabigyan sya ng chance na magbayad pero may provision na pwede sya makasuhan kapag di nya nabayaran kahit installment. Salamat po muli sa additional answer sa tanong ko po. salamat po ng marami. God bless po.

Sorry for the very late reply. Yes, you can execute an agreement, have it signed in the presence of at least 2 witnesses and have it notarized. However, please bear in mind that once you have executed a compromise agreement or the person issued a promissory note, you can no longer sue him for estafa . Your cause of action will now be converted into civil case, i.e., collection for sum of money, breach of contract with damages.

But there is a work around on that, you can ask the person to issue post-dated checks to cover the whole amount misappropriated. This will serve as your security that he will make good of his promise to pay. Should his checks, which he represented to be funded, bounced, you can sue him for violation of Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 or the Anti-Bouncing Check Law and/or Estafa. This will be now your new cause of action which is a(re) criminal case(s)

Hope my reply is not yet too late! Have a lawyer prepare the agreement or promisory note for you!

Take care!