A PASAY City court has ordered the arrest of businessman and an employee of a resort hotel for estafa after finding basis in the case filed by state prosecutors accusing them of defrauding a trading company of P12 million.
In a one-page warrant issued on October 11, Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch Acting Judge Ronald August Tan ordered the arrest of businessman Lavish Mohan Paryani and Reigna Reyes.
The Department of Justice said Reyes was arrested the following day, October 12, by operatives of the Southern Police District while Paryani remained at large.
The arrest order stemmed from a complaint filed by RTI Incorporated alleging the two swindled the company in a fraudulent business deal.
RTI corporate treasurer Maria Anita Turqueza said Paryani requested Filipino-Indian businessman Rajiv Chandiramani to arrange a business meeting with RTI and Reyes.
During the meeting held on April 2, Paryani, Reyes and RTI officials met with directors of Ley Lahs 888 International Trading Incorporated, during which they informed RTI that they have a business transaction with Solaire Resorts and Casino totaling P20 million in high-end electronics and home appliances.
The respondents also claimed during the meeting that they obtained the business from Solaire because of Reyes’ ties with the said company as a procurement officer.
The complaint, which was filed with the Pasay City prosecutor’s office, alleged that the respondents then requested a P10-million loan from RTI with repayment within 90 days and a P2 million interest.
After the loan, the respondents cut off communication with RTI, and the latter discovered that the purchase orders were fraudulent and the check’s associated bank account had been closed.
Reyes denied her role, saying she was not present during the April meeting and that she is not associated with Ley Lahs, although she said she had a personal relationship with Paryani.
She also told the prosecutor’s office she could not be held for estafa as she did not issue the check that bounced.
Paryani ailed to submit his counter-affidavit.
“After a comprehensive evaluation of the allegations of the complainant, together with the pieces of documentary evidence submitted to this Office, the undersigned finds prima facie evidence to indict the respondents for the crime of estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code,” said the October 3 resolution issued by Pasay City Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Marcos Dela Cruz Jr.
“It is the observation of the undersigned that the act of issuing the checks was the efficient cause of defraudation, and which issuance was made prior to or simultaneous with the act of fraud. It is considered deceitful on the part of the respondents when the subject check was issued and that RTI Incorporated would not have parted with its money were it not for the issuance of the subject check,” the resolution added.
