Batac City HPG files raps against P54-M investment scam suspect

By Freddie Lazaro

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte — A unit of the Ilocos Norte Highway Patrol Group (HPG) has filed a complaint against the suspected operator of an alleged investment scam in Regions 1, 2, 3, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Chief Insp. Rufino Noog, the chief of the Ilocos Norte HPG, confirmed the filing of complaints before the Prosecutor’s Office against one Roy Gonong, who allegedly heads the Kabulinawan Producers Cooperative and Kabulinawan Lending Corporation based in Batac City.

Two of Gonong’s alleged cohorts were also named in the complaint after the HPG recovered from them five vehicles that are allegedly the subject of a carnapping case tied to a P54-million investment scam, said Noog.

The city HPG chief said the suspect had allegedly taken more or less P54 million from their victims, who were mostly professionals, police, government employees, and businessmen.

The modus operandi of the suspect, Noog said, is to convince their victims to invest a huge amount of money with 5 percent interest every month given by a supposed investor.

Once the deal is done, the suspect will provide the victim with a car – the payment for which is arranged with his lending corporation.

However, the lending corporation will ignore the payments, thus forfeiting the sale of the vehicle and leaving the victim in debt, said Noog.