If the complainants in the Easy Agent Operation (EAO) scam are to be believed, at least three ranking police officers in Catanduanes masterminded the pyramiding operation that unraveled last Nov. 23, 2024.
During a confrontation at Camp Francisco Camacho last Saturday, the officers, however, reportedly denied having a hand in the operation and claimed that they, too, were victims of financial fraud that cheated possibly more than 10,000 “members” in the island and in Camarines Sur of their hard-earned money.
The meeting, held in the presence of ranking police officials led by Catanduanes Police Provincial Director PCol. Edward D. Quijano, was attended by more than 10 victims seeking the return of their investments ranging from P500 to as much as P93,000,
Representatives of the victims as well as the officers belonging to the Catanduanes 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) were given the opportunity to present their claims but both parties did not come to an amicable settlement.
Instead, the victims’ group is planning to ask the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a thorough investigation of the EAO scam to identify those responsible and enable the filing of syndicated estafa cases against them.
The CATPPO referred them to the Provincial Internal Affairs Service, a separate investigative body, to facilitate the formal filing of the case but the Tribune learned that the representatives went to the San Andres police to have the incident recorded in the police blotter.
In reaffirming its commitment to respect the outcome of the ongoing investigation and any legal action that may follow, the Camp Camacho leadership said it remains steadfast in its dedication to uphold the principles of integrity and accountability.
“The organization will not tolerate any misconduct by its personnel and strongly discourages actions that could tarnish its reputation or undermine the trust placed in it by the public,” the statement stressed.
A day earlier, after meeting with PD Quijano, one of the complainants went to the office of Bicol PNP Regional Director PBGen. Andre Perez Dizon, who reportedly elicited a key admission from one of the 1st PMFC officers regarding the “link” indicating the relationship between EAO officials and their recruited members.
Two of the complainants gave the names of the five “Regional Agents” who managed the accounts, including the three law enforcers who used the named “Alas Castro,” “Andie” and “Jane” in their exchange of messages with EAO members in their Telegram chat groups.
Another woman was reportedly designated as a branch manager for San Andres, as evidenced by a communication sent by the EAO management to the chat groups.
Another police officer, a native of San Andres, was also identified as a Top Agent of the organization.
According to the complainants. “Alas Castro” allegedly claimed having joined the Walmart EAO group as early as June 2024 while “Andie” came in by August.
Wearing their uniforms, the officers allegedly visited barangay Bislig, where most of the victims reside, several times to recruit them as members of the Walmart EAO.
The PMFC detachment is just a motorcycle ride away in barangay Codon, with the officers already familiar to Bislig residents as “Alas Castro” and “Andie” frequently passed by a friend who invested a small amount but never increased the amount.
They also held so-called “charity events,” distributing packs of rice, noodles and canned goods to prospective members.
Both eventually became Regional Agents, each with more than a thousand members under them and responsible for Levels 1 to 15.
Under the scheme, a Level 1 member is the so-called direct account or recruited by the agent, while Level II is a member brought into the fold by the direct account, and so on and so forth.
The recruiters were apparently formed into teams led by Operations Specialists who were tasked to recruit 30 members and up each week to invest in the scheme.
Under the operation, each of the Operations Specialist gets a monthly reward of P8,000 once his or her active team member reaches 30, P16,000 when it reaches 100, and P32,000 when membership reaches 300.
The Regional Agent, on the other hand, gets a monthly reward of 60,000 for 1,000 members. The reward increases to P100,000 monthly for Premium Agents with at least 3,000 members, P200,000 monthly for Top Agents with 6,000 members, and P300,000 for Regional Guidance Managers with 10,000 members.
The complainants reportedly told the Camp Camacho officials that they would not have become members and invested their savings if the recruiters were not police officers.
“We trusted them because they were wearing police uniforms,” they said.
It is claimed that more than 60 law enforcers also fell victim to the scam.
The complainants told the Tribune that a through probe should be able to to prove that the three police officers masterminded the scam, based on the screenshots of Telegram messages and GCash payments made by investors.