NBI nabs alleged mastermind of ‘Masa Mart’ investment scam

Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) nabbed the alleged mastermind of the “Masa Mart” investment scam in Tagaytay.

The suspect was identified as Jessie Royo, who is wanted for syndicated estafa, according to John Consulta’s “24 Oras” report on Tuesday.

More than 5,000 investors, including government employees and uniformed personnel, had fallen victim to the alleged “Masa Mart” investment scam.

The NBI had also taken Royo's wife and two bodyguards into custody.

“Matagal na namin siyang hinahanap. Sinundan namin siya sa Taguig, sa Las Piñas, hanggang sa eventually ay nandito lang pala sa Cavite. Modus lang nila ang na palalaguin ko ang pera mo sa foreign trading, at the end of the day wala naman pala,” NBI Cavido executive officer Jonathan Contreras said.

(We have been looking for him for a long time. We followed him to Taguig, Las Piñas, until eventually, he was here in Cavite. Their modus operandi is that they will grow the victim’s money in foreign trading, and at the end of the day there is nothing.)

Among those who filed complaints against the suspect were 19 public school teachers in Cavite.

The victims took out loans with the GSIS and invested at least P12 million with Royo.

“Halimbawa magi-invest ka ng P100,000, monthly makakakuha ka ng P30,000 (For example, if you invest P100,000, you will get P30,000 monthly),” said teacher and victim Laila.

“Inutang pa namin yun, pina-invest namin kasi kumapit kami. Masakit (We even borrowed that money, we invested because we believed. This is so painful),” another teacher and victim Anne said.

"Hindi siya biktima, manloloko siya, scammer (He's not a victim, he's a fraud, a scammer),” teacher and victim April said.

While the suspect declined to comment, he nevertheless insisted that he was also a victim and got scammed by the people he trusted who allegedly ran the company’s money.

“Napakarami nang nai-file ng NBI sa Department of Justice (DOJ). Dahil sa kilala naman ang subject at arestado na, i-file na nila directly sa piskalya, sa DOJ, sa prosecutor’s office na nasasakupan kung saan may jurisdiction yung kaso para mas mapabilis,” Contreras said.

(The NBI has already filed a lot of complaints with the DOJ. Since the subject is known and has already been arrested, they can file it directly with the prosecutor's office, the DOJ, the prosecutor's office in the area where the case has jurisdiction, to expedite things.) — Richa Noriega/DVM, GMA Integrated News