P82M scam ends in jail

BAGUIO CITY-- A Regional Trial Court in Baguio City sentenced a woman various prison terms and ordering her to pay four different victims a combined total of P81.9 million in damages plus 6 percent annual interest after being found guilty for four counts of estafa.

The RTC in its 48-page 27 January ruling found  Catherine Aquino Belleza ordered her to serve a specific range of time in prison while also requiring her to repay the victims for their financial losses.

For the first case, she is sentenced to a minimum of 8 years and 1 day and a maximum of 15 years in prison. She was ordered to pay the complainant P19, 200,000. For the second case, she was  sentenced for 10 to 20 years of jail term and a massive repayment order of P41.7 million to the second complainant.

In the third case, Belleza was sentenced for four years and 2 months, with maximum ranging from 10 to 11 years. She will also have to pay the third complainant P11.5 million.

In the fourth case, she will also serve 4 years and 2 months, with maximum ranging from 10 to 11 years prison term. Belleza will pay P9.5 million to the complainants who are a couple.

Beyond the base amounts, the court has applied a 6% annual interest rate to all these debts. This interest begins accruing once the judgment becomes final and continues until she has paid the victims in full. Altogether she will pay a  total of P81.9 million plus interest.

The cases revolved around Belleza's use of fictitious representations to obtain a substantial sum of money. 

The court finds that the accused employed "false pretenses and fraudulent acts" executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud to lure the victim into a financial arrangement that ultimately proved to be a sham.