Land scam busted: Woman caught selling lot with fake title

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a woman who sold a piece of land with an alleged fake title in Santiago City, Isabela.

The bureau said the suspect — a woman whose name was withheld — was arrested during an entrapment operation conducted by the Isabela District Office (NBI-ISDO).

The operation was conducted after the NBI-ISDO received a complaint on an alleged fraudulent house-and-lot purchase agreement involving 400 square meters of land in Cordon town for P1,500,000.

The complainant alleged that she had remitted P160,000 to the suspect, but a check later conducted with the Registry of Deeds of Santiago City showed there was no such title covering the subject property.

An investigation conducted in coordination with the Provincial Registry of Deeds of Isabela also showed there was no land title covering the property.

It was discovered that there was no petition for reconstitution of the alleged title filed by the suspect or by any other purported claimant.

On 10 July, when the suspect persistently demanded that P290,000 be remitted, the NBI hatched the entrapment operation that led to her arrest.

Three criminal charges were filed against the suspect before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Santiago City for violation of Article 315, paragraph 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Republic Act No. 10175 (the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012); estafa through falsification of public documents; and falsification by a private individual.

The suspect executed a waiver and manifested her right to undergo preliminary investigation.