The Philippines Anti-Investment Scam Task Force, a multi-agency body composed of representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Trade and Industry, National Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, has discovered that at least 43 companies in the Cordillera region have used Ponzi schemes in luring victims to invest millions of pesos over the past several years.
SEC director for Baguio lawyer Annie Gonzales Tesoro said that 12 of the companies were registered with the commission as engaged in trading. The rest are listed with the Department of Trade and Industry; the rest are not registered at all.
The task force has filed 19 multiple estafa charges against Three Angels General Merchandise manager Sukil-ap Pagaduan following complaints that the company collected P2 million from its investors and then closed