Trader arrested for condo sale scheme

MANILA, Philippines — A businesswoman was apprehended for allegedly swindling over 40 people in a scheme involving the sale of a condominium unit in Tondo, Manila.

Jady Jimenez Tomanglao, 40, and Nikko Regunan Maderal, 34, were caught in a sting at Urban Deca Homes on Tuesday, according to a Manila Police District (MPD) report.

Police said Tomanglao would sell a mortgaged condominium unit for P250,000. She would later claim that the amount the buyer paid was only a downpayment and demand more money, threatening to evict the buyer from the unit, investigators said.

Police said one of the complainants found out that the unit was not mortgaged but owned by another person, identified as Apple Joy Reyes.

More than 40 people reportedly lost between P100,000 and P600,000 each to the scheme, according to the MPD.

Charges of syndicated estafa were filed against Tomanglao, Maderal, Reyes, the condominium building’s administration and two others, police said.