Casino financier denies selling carnapped cars

CEBU - Alleged ‘notorious car dealer’ Alma Gonzales yesterday denied allegations by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group that she is engaged in selling stolen vehicles.

The CIDG arrested Gonzales last November 20 on charges of estafa through falsification of public documents. She then gained temporary liberty after posting an P80,000 bail.

Gonzales said her business, GA Italia Motors in barangay Zapatera, is legitimate since it started in 2006 and that all her vehicles have undergone inspection by the Traffic Management Group and the Land Transportation Office. She said some gamblers in the casino just want to tarnish her integrity and credibility, as she also is a casino financier. Gonzales said she has become a victim of the situation for paying the debts of car owners who sell their cars to her as a guarantee to a loan for the casino.

One of those who allegedly owed her money was Elsie Miranda, who sought help from the TMG in Cavite after her Honda CRV was reportedly forcibly taken by unidentified men.

Yesterday, Gonzales showed a deed of sale to prove that the subject Honda CRV was not stolen before she sold it to one Roberto Donato here in Cebu.

Gonzales said Miranda herself sold the Honda CRV to her and the vehicle was reportedly shipped to Cebu from Manila on November 14, 2008.

“That car Donato bought from me was not carnapped or stolen. It was sold to me by Elsie Miranda on November 8, 2008 in Manila. CIDG revealed that the car was allegedly carnapped or stolen while it was parked somewhere in Cavite. Mrs. Miranda went to TMG in Cavite and reported the incident that her car was forcibly taken by unidentified men on Nov. 17. That is a big lie since the car was shipped here in Cebu on November 14, 2008 in the morning,” Gonzales said, showing the deed of sale document.

Gonzales said she usually becomes a victim when the owners of the cars made as guarantee to a loan from her are reported as having been stolen.

This is reportedly the tactic of the car owners because they get paid by their insurance company if the vehicles are officially recorded as stolen. Gonzales yesterday apologized to her clients like Donato for being dragged into the issue. She also acknowledged that the CIDG is just doing its job.

While admitting that she has five pending cases before the city prosecutor’s office, she only became the subject of a warrant of arrest after she failed to attend a pre-trial conference.

“If I’m not mistaken, I never received a subpoena by the prosecutors regarding the case... in this nature of business, it’s normal to be accused of such charges. Buying and selling cars is not my primary business, as I am also a casino financier,” Gonzales said. — Niña Chrismae G. Sumacot/JMO (THE FREEMAN)