Woman falls for estafa, illegal recruitment
A 38-year-old businesswoman accused of seven counts of estafa and large scale illegal recruitment was arrested Wednesday afternoon after seven years in hiding at a subdivision in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City.
Leonora Cantero, a resident of the same place, was arrested by the operatives of Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG)-7 based on warrants of arrest issued by the courts in Las Piñas and Marikina.
Police Lt. Zosimo Ravanes, chief investigator of AKG-7, said Cantero is facing charges of large-scale estafa, seven counts of estafa and large-scale illegal recruitment.
“Duna tay mga informant nga nagtudlo nato kay iyang warrant of arrest na issue 2014 and 2015, so taud-taud na jud ni siyang gipangita sa atong mga kapulisan didto sa Manila,” said Ravanes.
It took three weeks for the AKG-7 operatives to confirm Cantero’s identity because she is already known as Leigh Abad in Lapu-Lapu City where she is doing business.
“In fact, ang iyang pangalan diri sa Lapu-Lapu is different from her warrant of arrest. Ang warrant of arrest was issued to Leonora Cantero but ang iyang business name diri sa Cebu is Leigh Abad,” Ravanes said.
Ravanes said they are now considering another criminal case against Cantero for falsifying several documents to hide her identity. These include fabricating name and other supporting documents for her business permit.
Investigation revealed that Cantero recruited eight people to work as caregivers in the U.S. The victims were promised a high-paying job in exchange for P200,000 each as placement fee. The victims were never sent abroad.
“Then niabot og three years nga way nahimo that’s the time nga gi-check sa DOLE ug sa uban pa’ng agency, walay mga application nga naabot didto sa ilang mga pangalan,” Ravanes said.
Cantero claimed she already settled the cases after paying P1.3 million to the complainants on January 13, 2015. She presented to the police an affidavit of desistance.
“Sila (complainants) po yan nag pirma,” Cantero told reporters showing a photo of the document on her phone.
Despite her showing a supposed affidavit of desistance from the complainants, Cantero will remain in police custody. She will be turned over to the courts that issued her arrest warrant.
“Naa silay gipakita na nga affidavit of desistance but ang issuing court bag-o pa man nipada ug warrant of arrest so wala na siguro nalihok sa iyang abogado so ilaha na na nga pagpresent didto sa court, pagpresent nga settled na ang maong kaso,” said Ravanes.
Cantero also denied hiding from the law enforcers. She claimed she was not aware of the warrants of arrest against her. She also denied recruiting caregivers for the U.S.
According to her, it was her ex-husband’s cousin who recruited the complainants and she merely acted as “middleman”. —