Filipinos file illegal recruitment, estafa raps vs Italian, cohorts

The Department of Justice (DOJ)–Office of the City Prosecutor in Tagaytay City, Cavite, was asked by two Filipino event coordinators to investigate and file criminal charges for large-scale illegal recruitment and estafa against an Italian national and his alleged cohorts.

The complainants, identified as Sheryl Lopez and Jhon Michael Umali in a six-page joint complaint-affidavit, claimed that the respondents offered them employment in Singapore with a monthly salary of SGD 2,000, or the equivalent of more than P90,000, in December 2024.

They met the respondents during an event they organized in Tagaytay City in December 2024, where the latter introduced themselves as personnel of Tamber International Placement Agency.

After several meetings, the victims said the respondents were able to convince them to accept the job offer following repeated assurances that their deployment would be processed immediately.

The complainants, in exchange, paid P100,000 each as a placement fee for visa processing and other requirements.

On 14 December 2024, the complainants said they attended an online orientation conducted by respondents Italian national Adel En Nouri and Singaporean national Narwani Ricky Ravin.

During the orientation, other respondents identified as Prerna Giani and Nisha Deepak Khemlani, both Singaporean nationals, tried to pressure them into signing blank employment forms, which they refused to do.

After the five-day orientation period, the complainants said they became suspicious of their recruiters, which prompted them to check with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) the records of Tamber International Placement Agency.

The DMW issued a certification stating that the agency is not licensed to recruit workers for overseas employment, which led to the filing of the complaint against the respondents.

The complainants said they also sought assistance from authorities to apprehend the respondents, but the office was already closed and the respondents could no longer be located.

It may be recalled that a similar complaint was lodged by two Filipino women before the DOJ–Office of the City Prosecutor of Santo Tomas City, Batangas, against Nouri and Ravin and their Filipino cohorts.

The victims said they were convinced by the respondents to pay a total amount of P120,000 each for the immediate processing of their documents and other requirements for deployment as caregivers either in Canada or the United Arab Emirates, which turned out to be fraudulent.