SEC secures conviction for fraud

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has scored another victory against fraudulent lenders.

It has successfully secured the conviction of three officials of a lending company for submitting falsified documents for registration with the SEC.

According to the SEC, a regional trial court found three officials of Dr Verma Lending Corp. guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), providing penalties for the falsification of public documents by a private individual.

In a decision dated April 5, the Pasay Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 47 sentenced the three officials up to two years and six months imprisonment alongside a P100,000 fine.

The SEC earlier filed the criminal case against Dr Verma Lending after it found that the company falsified its registration requirements.

Specifically, it found irregularities in the company’s certificate of bank deposit in the amount of P1 million, purportedly issued by BDO-Pasay Two Shopping Center Branch in April 2017, which Dr Verma Lending submitted as part of the requirements for registration with the SEC.

The certificate was made supposedly in compliance with Republic Act 9474, otherwise known as the Lending Company Regulation Act, which prescribes a minimum paid-up capital of P1 million for lending companies.

However, upon verification with the bank, the SEC found that the bank certificates were falsified and BDO-Pasay Two Shopping Center had not issued the certificate of bank deposit submitted by Dr Verma Lending.

Any private individual who commits falsifications in any public or official document or letter of exchange or any other kind of commercial document shall incur a penalty of two years, four months and one day up to six years.

At present, the SEC is actively prosecuting 375 individuals in 56 cases for violations of Republic Act 8799 or the Securities Regulation Code, and three cases for violations of the Revised Penal Code.

The conviction of Dr Verma’s officials marks another victory for the SEC against illegal lenders.

Last March, the SEC also saw the prosecution of officers of Phil86 Gurunanak Lending ang Trading Corp. over the same violation.

Previously, lending company officials of Naurasidhu55 and X-CEE789 Lending and Trading Inc. were also convicted under the Lending Company Regulation Act (LCRA).

Moving forward, the SEC said it would continue its crackdown against illegal lenders engaged in exorbitant lending schemes and other unscrupulous practices.