Two officers of the Catanduanes police and a San Andres resident who were allegedly behind the Easy Agent Operation (EAO) investment firm that suddenly closed late last month have reportedly reached a deal with three of the complainants for P275,000.
It is claimed that after it was reported that the complainants would file criminal charges against the two police officers, there were negotiations between the two parties that led to the crafting of a compromise agreement last Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
It may be recalled that after the confrontation at the Catanduanes Provincial Police Office in Camp Francisco Camacho on Nov. 30 where no deal was reached, the complainants went to Camp Simeon Ola where they reported the matter to Regional Director PBGen. Andre Perez Dizon.
The Bicol police chief immediately ordered the relief of the involved officers, with the Catanduanes police releasing a statement that it would not tolerate any misconduct by its personnel.
In the police blotter entry, the two complainants – both of them public school teachers in Presentacion and Caramoan, Camarines Sur but residents of Bislig, San Andres – claimed that they were 4th level members of EAO representing Team Gold with 152 members under them with a combined investment of P307,000.
They said that they were given the link to the EAO app by their sister, who was recruited by a certain “Alias RED” who in turn was allegedly recruited by another teacher in Garchitorena.
That teacher was recruited by PSMS Alas dela Cruz of the Catanduanes 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) based in Codon, San Andres, a neighboring barangay of Bislig,
The officer was one of the so-called Regional Agents of EAO, who handles teams under him with a total of at least 1,000 members.
The complainants told the San Andres police that in the morning of Nov. 25, the EAO app suddenly closed, reopening hours later at 6 PM.
The following day, they said, the app totally shut down, with the investors unable make transactions.
Their investments could no longer be seen or verified on their accounts at the app, the teachers added.
A draft of the settlement between the parties stated that they agreed to resolve the matter amicably in order to avoid protracted litigation but the document did not state the amount involved.
Both complaining teachers and another investor manifested their intention not to pursue the complaint relative to the investment, transactions and recruitment made under EAO.
At the confrontation at the police headquarters, Sorral identified the other involved Regional Agents as PMFC police officer Rhandy R. Rapesora and Catagbacan resident Ryan S. Manoguid.
The three were 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.
Despite the settlement, the involved law enforcers are still under investigation by the PNP Internal Affairs Service and could be subjected to administrative sanctions.
The settlement itself, according to insiders, could be used against them as they admitted to the violation. In addition to considerable evidence against them.
To some of 50 or so victims in Bislig, they are no longer hopeful of ever recovering their investments ranging from the minimum P500 to as high as P93,000.
Last week, in an airy nipa hut beside the shoreline where residents usually gathered to escape the heat of the afternoon, one of them recounted to the Tribune how he was recruited into the scheme.
A resident managed to invite the scam victim after the Tribune failed to find one recruiter in her home in
a low-lying area where most of the land was still underwater due to storm surge brought by STY “Pepito” and the recent rains unleashed by the shear line.
A family member recruited him about three weeks before the scam ended and sent the link to his cellphone, with the EAO app automatically downloaded once the link is clicked.
He logged into the EAO app using his cellphone number and his password, and then sent his initial P500 investment through Gcash.
It was his recruiter as well as the regional agents who introduced him to the Walmart EAO app, through which they were encouraged to buy “items” from a list of merchandise.
The products he bought – Halloween items – were not actually delivered, he said, but his “buying” the product gave him a daily dividend of P25 for the P500, with a P1,200 “buy” netting a daily dividend of P61.
“Gatukawtukaw ka baga, igua kang daily income na gaabot, dakulang bagay na baga,” he remarked.
Once the dividend recorded in his account reached P230, he immediately withdraw it, with the EAO management deducting P30 as fee.
In all, he made around 10 withdrawals, meaning he had already recovered his initial investment and more.
“Sabi ko, pag nag-shutdown ini, dai na akong daogan,” he said, recalling on his decision not to add to his original amount.
The windfall convinced him to recruit seven members – two family members and five of his friends – who also put in about P500 each. From this recruitment, he was able to get an incentive which went into his account.
“Pero nagdagdag ako kang gapardakula na su offer,” the investor said, adding that the P10,000 came from his brother and was invested using his account as his brother’s cellphone was not up to the task.
In four days, he was able to withdraw P1,200 per day, receiving P4,000 net income which he promptly withdrew through his Gcash and gave to his brother.
“Sa huri na ako nagduda kang gaparadakula na su income. Yung P10,000 may P1,200 daily income. Sabi ko, dai na ini, may scam ini pag arog kaini,” he recalled.
His brother, unable to recover the P6,000 balance of his investment, was not happy but accepted the loss as it was all a gamble.
“Dai na man akong maginibo diyan, scam na ngani. Sisay man ang hahabulon ko duman?” the investor stated. “Sabi ko, sugal sana. Kung daog, di daog…”
“Su iba kaya, nagtiwalang grabe, puminusak,” he explained. “Kutana, bago sinda nagpusak, binawi muna su primerong investment.”
He claimed that from his members’ investments and transactions with Walmart EAO, he earned total dividends of P37,000 but he was not able to withdraw the P30,000 net income.
“The app showed the P30,000 was paying but no Gcash remittance came,” he said. “Dyakpat kutana.”
Given the chance, he said he would ask the concerned police officers what happened as they were the ones who promoted EAO, assisted them and explained how the scheme worked in the app.
He recalled that when he withdrew the dividends, the payments were sent through different Gcash numbers although the officers alleged that the remittances were sent through banks.
He also wondered whether the momentary reopening of the app to allow members to withdraw from their accounts was intended to allow the EAO management to get the money to pay other members.
“Kung nadaog man, P500 man sana, bakong masyadong makulog,” the investor answered when asked if the scam affected him.