13 Crypto Scammers Sentenced to 3 Years in Mandaluyong
Regional Trial Court Branch 211 in Mandaluyong City sentenced 13 individuals to 3 years imprisonment each for aiding cybercrime under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, after they pleaded guilty to lesser charges on May 26.
Key Takeaway
Fast guilty pleas suggest prosecutors had strong digital evidence from the Mandaluyong condo raid.
The National Bureau of Investigation's Dangerous Drugs Division arrested 15 individuals on May 9 during a raid on a condominium in Mandaluyong City where a crypto scam network was operating. Thirteen of those arrested pleaded guilty to a lesser offense at their May 26 arraignment.
Regional Trial Court Branch 211 in Mandaluyong City sentenced all 13 to 3 years imprisonment each for aiding or abetting cybercrime under Section 5(a) of Republic Act No. 10175. The accused were originally charged with the more serious offenses of computer-related fraud and misuse of devices under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Investigators linked the scam network to someone using the alias "Boss Choi." The NBI used on-site digital forensic examination to build its case against the accused, who are now temporarily detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facility in Mandaluyong City. Two foreign nationals were among the 15 people initially arrested in the operation.
The guilty pleas came less than three weeks after the initial arrests, with both the arraignment and sentencing completed by May 26.
This article was written based on reporting from Nbi.
