Ex-Valenzuela vice mayor held for estafa

MANILA, Philippines — Former Valenzuela City vice mayor Evelyn Hernandez was arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents last Friday for allegedly being involved in a P14-million estafa case.

Hernandez was caught in an entrapment operation by the NBI’s Anti-Organized and Transnational Crimes Division when she accepted an envelope containing P50,000 from complainant Andreas Georgious, a British businessman, in a coffee shop in Cubao.

Hernandez, who was vice mayor in Valenzuela City in 1995, also faces charges of violating securities regulations.

Georgious alleged that Hernandez deceived him into investing P14 million in a venture related to the supply of raw materials for the construction of the Bulacan International Airport.

According to Georgious, Hernandez assured him that his investment would yield a return of P100 million within five years.

Hernandez allegedly asserted that her connections within the companies involved in the airport project would secure the success of the investment.

However, Georgious reported that he had yet to receive any communication from Hernandez since providing the funds in 2021.

The former vice mayor approached the businessman earlier this year, soliciting another investment, this time for a project in Cebu.

In 2020, Hernandez was also arrested by the Valenzuela police after businesswoman Emma Domasing complained that she lost P100,000 in a health club scam linked to the former vice mayor.