“Investing Scam” Owners, Officers in deeper trouble each day

November 30, 2019 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY (November 28, 2019) – “Investing scam” owners and officers including a popular actor are in deeper trouble each day as more complains are piling up against them by their unsuspecting victims.
More than thirty more have sought the National Bureau of Investigation-Laoag City since last week narrating how they were deceived into investing their hard-earned money and losing it to the hands of owners and officers of SPVTOP International Incorporated, a pre-paid loading firm which has offices in Quezon City and Baguio City.
NBI Agent Gerald Batule though said owners and officers of SPVTOP International Inc. — Brick Agcopra, CEO/President and General Manager; Leila Agcopra, finance and administrative officer; Elena Pieda, CEO; Eden Velasquez, board member; Hilario Valesquez, board members; Harry Agcopra, business development manager; Andrei Agcopra, network development manager; actor Ricardo Cepeda, product ambassador; Marlon Dizon, training and development director; Clint Tayag, operations manager; Ron Metica, overall consultant; and Napoleon Agra, agent/recruiter/consultant, were already summoned to explain themselves before state prosecutors.
Though none have yet officially answered, he said. The Agcopras and most of the officials of SPVTOP Int’l Inc.’s were traced as Baguio City residents.
Two weeks ago, three estafa cases were filed against SPVTOP officials at the Cagayan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Sanchez Mira by the first batch of complainants. The second and third batches of complainants had also filed charges.
More than 1,000 “investors” were reportedly scammed in Claveria and Sanchez Mira towns in Cagayan where SPVTOP Int’l Inc. had “collected” P500M as investments, Batule of the NBILaoag said.
One of the most recent complainant against SPVTOP Int’l Inc. is Police Executive Master Sergeant Diomedes Ancheta, assigned at the Bangui, Ilocos Norte police but a resident of Claveria, Cagayan. A total of P1.5 million was taken from him.
Ancheta in his complaint before the Cagayan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Sanchez Mira town said, he was enticed to invest last February P650,000.00 with SPVTOP Int’l Inc.’s promise of monthly 8 percent interest through 12 post-dated checks, where the 12th would be the principal amount of P650,000.00 and its interest.
On April, SPVTOP Int’l Inc. CEO/President/General Manager Agcopra and its officers accordingly raised the monthly interest of investments to 10 percent for those breaching the P1M investment.
Again lured by this offer, Ancheta topped up his P650, 000 initial “investment” with another P798, 000.00 and another P52,000. He was issued 12 BPI checks under the SPVTOP Int’l account signed by Agcopra.
Ancheta told the NBI-Laoag that he was able to encash his BPI checks from May to August, but not his September to October checks, prompting him to notify his recruiter Napoleon Agra, who in turn assured him they pay last October 15. Such promised never came, the policeman claimed.
The policeman-complainant claimed that he also came to learn that other investors in Claveria, Cagayan suffered his same experience, prompting him to seek NBI-Laoag’s help.
Twenty more complainants from Laoag City in Ilocos Norte also sought the NBI two weeks ago. There are at least 50 victims in that province with a total investment of P35, 850,000.00. NBI-Laoag District Office chief lawyer Diosdado Araos said, the Securities and Exchange Commission in Baguio City had vouched that SPVTOP Int’l Inc. is registered to them but was not authorized to engage in soliciting investments.
SPVTOP Int’l Inc. even reportedly collected “investments” as far as Laguna, Batule claimed, raising the alarm that the “scamming firm’s” operation even went nationwide as they have been informed that SPVTOP Int’l Inc. “agents” are still into it as far as Batangas, Laguna including Metro Manila. “People should be warned against the trap,” Batule said.
 
Artemio A. Dumlao/ABN