Ricardo Cepeda arrested in Caloocan for alleged estafa

Actor Ricardo Cepeda was nabbed in Caloocan City by authorities on Saturday in connection with a syndicated estafa case, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said.

The 58-year-old Cepeda, also known as Richard Go, was nabbed by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) under Police Major Don Don Llapitan.

He was arrested at 11 a.m. in Maypajo following a warrant of arrest issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 12 Executive Judge Gemma P. Bucayu-Madrid in Sanchez Mira, Cagayan.

QCPD acting director Police Brigadier General Redrico Maranan lauded the CIDU operatives for the arrest.

"Patuloy din po ang inyong kapulisan sa paghahanap sa mga wanted persons para ma siguro ang kaligtasan ng bawat isang mamamayan," he said.

(Your police force is continuously searching for wanted persons to ensure the safety of each citizen.)

Meanwhile, Cepeda's son Mark De Sequera said his father was "wrongfully accused."

De Sequera said Cepeda was a product endorser of a sales company.

"The company offered an investment scheme (which he had no knowledge nor participation of) which paid people a big % profit monthly. Guaranteed with advanced payouts in monthly postdated checks. Eventually the checks started bouncing so the investors filed estafa cases against everyone who they thought was part of the company. Including Ricardo -who was just the celebrity model," he wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.

"His lawyer can easily prove his innocence by presenting a copy of DTI showing the company is a sole proprietorship and his name is not there. Also his name appears nowhere on any of the said investment moas and post dated checks," De Sequera added. —KG, GMA Integrated News