National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Regional Office 9 agents arrested a man for allegedly falsifying documents which resulted to the approval of some P1-million worth of loans from a lending agency.
In an interview over E-Media Network’s Combersa program, NBI-9 Regional Director Ferdinand Lavin identified the suspect as Paul “DJ” Notarion, a resident of Tetuan village, Zamboanga city.
NBI agents reportedly nabbed the suspect after serving a search warrant in his residence in Tetuan village, Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 pm.
Confiscated during the search were falsified government identification cards of teachers, police and military personnel, payslips, and Pag-Ibig fund and GSIS cards. NBI agents also confiscated computer units, scanners and printers reportedly used by the suspect for falsifyng the government documents.
According to Lavin, the operation involves falsifying documents such as identification cards to enable individuals to secure loans as government employees from a lending agency.
Payslips were also copied and falsified to enable government employees to secure higher amounts for their loans from the lending agency.
Lavin said that 34 individuals claiming to be teachers were suspected to have obtained loans from the lending agency using the fake documents.
Four out of the 34 borrowers were determined not to be teachers but were able to secure loans using the documents.
At least thirty borrowers were able to secure higher loan amounts using the falsified payslips.
The borrowers were reportedly able to obtain loans amounting to a total amount of at least P400,000.
ACMC Lending Corporation Owner Carmen Linda Aguado however said that the figure can reach up to P1-million once all the figures have been tallied.
Lavin said the suspect’s computer equipment will be brought to Manila for further examination to determine the complete extent of the scam.
Aside from teachers’ identification cards, NBI agents also found fake identification cards for PNP and AFP personnel.
Meanwhile, the NBI is also looking for another suspect involved in the falsifying operations.
Lavin identified Ontario’s cohort as Jessica Banay Fonolera, the person reportedly responsible for scouting individuals interested to obtain loans using fake documents.
Lavin warned the public, particularly owners of lending agencies, to be cautious against accepting applicants using fake documents saying that it would be very difficult for the latter to prosecute individuals who manage to borrow huge amounts but who turn out to be fictitious after using papers which turn out to be fake.
The NBI Regional Director advised owners of lending agencies to conduct additional background investigation to obtain more information regarding the person who wants to secure a loan from their establishment.
Source: zamboangatoday
