Annulment scammer falls

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested an individual suspected of being involved in an alleged “annulment scam” during an entrapment operation in Quezon City.

Operatives from the NBI nabbed the suspect identified as Mark Figueras last 20 March following a sting operation launched by the NBI-National Capital Region (NCR).

The NBI said Figueras was presented for inquest before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office for estafa and falsification of public documents under the Revised Penal Code.

Initial reports disclosed that the NBI-NCR acted on the complaint of a female victim who said that Figueras took from her P500,000 already in exchange for having her marriage annulled.

The complainant said she was told that the annulment procedure has been finished as the suspect assured her that her marriage has been annulled.

As proof, the victim recounted Figueras gave her a “trial memorandum” issued by a court in Zambales.

“However, the OIC (officer-in-charge) Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court of Iba Zambales issued a certification revealing that there is no existing Civil Case for annulment filed under the name of the complainant and her husband,” said the NBI.

It added that there is no existing RTC Branch 72 in Iba, Zambales and that there is no “Judge Federico Peralla Sr.” in any of the RTCs in Iba, Zambales.

Investigations also showed that Figueras told the complainant “to be ready for oath taking before the Office of the Solicitor General in Intramuros, Manila, which was set on 18 March 2024.”