Police Authorities Arrest 3 Suspects in Sangla-Estafa Scam
Three suspects involved in a pawn scam, known as “sangla-estafa,” were arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by the police in Muntinlupa City.
Estafa is a Spanish term used in the Philippines to refer to a type of fraud or swindling. It generally involves deceit or trickery to unlawfully obtain money, property, or services. Estafa can happen through various schemes, such as false promises, misrepresentation, or fraudulent contracts.
It is considered a criminal offense under Philippine law, punishable by imprisonment or fines, depending on the severity of the case.
Recently, the Southern Police District-Detective and Special Operations Unit (SPD-DSOU) launched an operation to arrest the suspects involved in pawn scam after receiving marked money amounting to P500,000 at a restaurant.
One of the suspects is a former police officer, while another is his wife, an employee at City Hall. The third suspect, a public school teacher, is the mother of the female suspect. Their scheme involved pawning a property with fake contracts and documents, convincing victims to lend them money.
However, the property didn’t actually exist, and after a few months of paying interest, the suspects would disappear.
The police revealed that the suspects repeatedly pawned a property in Sucat, Parañaque, scamming victims for amounts as large as P500,000. So far, the total amount swindled is estimated to be around P10 million from 15 victims.
The suspects would initially make payments, including interest, to gain the victims’ trust, before vanishing with the money.
One of the victims, a teacher, borrowed P500,000 to lend to the suspects, hoping to receive the interest payments to support her family. Another victim, also a teacher, lent money to the suspects, whom she had known for years.
The suspects had offered to sell the pawned property to the victims for P2.5 million after failing to pay off the initial loan.
In a similar post, a sari-sari store owner disheartened after being scammed “3 days pa lang yung store ko”
The suspects are now facing charges of estafa and remain in police custody, but they have not yet made any public statements regarding the case.
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