MANILA, Philippines - The Makati Metropolitan Trial Court found the estranged husband of actress Amalia Fuentes guilty of two counts of estafa for not remitting his employees’ monthly contributions to the Social Security System (SSS).
In an interview with The STAR, Fuentes said Judge Joselito Calpatura convicted Joseph “Joey” Stevens based on complaints filed in 2002 by Helen Gonzalez and Evangeline Galban, who worked as underwriting manager and assistant vice president for finance, respectively, for Stevens’ defunct Imperial Insurance Co.
Fuentes said she bared the guilty verdict to warn people like Stevens to change their ways.
“He was sentenced by the court for two years imprisonment for the one case and another one and a half year for the other case. He did not attend the promulgation last Tuesday (March 24) and he only sent a medical certification indicating that he suffered from heart attack. The medical excuse is usually being used by people who are about to be sentenced,” Fuentes said.
She said the court has given Stevens 15 days within with to file an appeal.
“I want this to be revealed to the public to serve as a warning to others who, maybe, similarly inclined. That is why some people lost their trust in the government,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes said there were originally 36 employees who were affected by Stevens’ non-remittance of SSS contributions, but many of them lost interest in pursuing the case because they did not have money to hire lawyers.
“Joey Stevens is very abusive. He abused his friendships with powerful people. He thought he could get away with it,” she said.
Citing Calpatura’s ruling, Fuentes said the court said that under the law the employers have 30 days to remit to SSS the contributions they collect from their employers.
Fuentes said she offered to help Stevens settle his case with the complainants prior to their separation, “but my lawyer told me not to do so… I was not aware that my lawyer knew about Joey’s womanizing then.”
She said Stevens was earning a lot then and she was surprised he could not settle the matter by himself.
“I later learned that he was using his money to lure his other women to stay with him... It’s not only justice from the court, but divine justice to Joey. Finally, Stevens received justice. I believed he fooled many people,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes said Galban and Gonzalez managed to pursue the case against Stevens because they have husbands they can lean on.
“Galban is married to a police colonel while Gonzalez has a husband who has a good job,” Fuentes said.