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MANILA, Philippines—The National Bureau of Investigation filed charges against three people, including two alleged US Marines, who purchased high-end electronic gadgets from an online auction and shopping website using fake bank checks.
Charged at the Department of Justice with estafa (fraud) for using falsified documents and assault upon persons of authority were Robert Andrew Hornick, an American national, and Filipino-Americans Virgil Anthony Pineda and Reynaldo Lumbo Jr. All were residing in Pampanga.
According to lawyer Ricardo Diaz, chief of staff at the NBI Office of the Deputy Director for Intelligence Services, the suspects' modus operandi involved purchasing from eBay.ph electronic items, including laptop computers, iPods and cellular phones using fake or falsified manager's checks.
"The suspects usually transact on weekends when banks are closed. So their victims had no other choice but to wait for weekdays to encash their checks, only to find out that they were duped," Diaz added.
"We've already sent a letter to the US Legal Attaché as to the status of the suspects, who were said to have served as US military personnel in Afghanistan. We are also verifying the information with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)," the NBI official said.
"The suspects seem to have minor physical disabilities, which they apparently acquired when they were on duty," they said.
The case stemmed from the complaint filed by Emmanuel Dris, of Wack-Wack, Wack-Wack Road, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City.
Dris, who has been into buy-and-sell business, told NBI that in early July, he posted on eBay.ph an advertisement selling his Toshiba laptop worth P40,000.
The suspects, who reportedly claimed they were employees of the US Embassy, responded to the ad and offered to buy the laptop.
During the pay-off last July 2, the suspects allegedly issued an Equitable-PCI Bank's manager's check, which when the complainant tried to encash, turned out to be fake.
Dris claimed he tried but could no longer contact the suspects on their cellphones.
The same thing happened to businessmen Paulo Madamba and Ken Koga, who both claimed that through the eBay website, the suspects, who reportedly identified themselves as members of the US military, bought their laptops and paid them falsified checks.
Dris claimed that on July 27, the suspects contacted his brother Jesus, who pretended to be selling a laptop in an entrapment set by the NBI. The suspects offered to buy Jesus' laptop for P32,000.
The suspects were arrested when they handed the fake managers' check to the complainants.
The NBI said the suspects tried to resist arrest.
The NBI learned that at least 15 people have fallen victims to the suspects' modus operandi.
