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22 OFW's issue bounced checks, jailed

Twenty-two filipinos in the United Arab emirates were imprisoned after falling  prey to a pyramid scam, resulting in charges of issuing bounced checks. The Philippine consulate in the UAE has sent a request to the ministry of foreign affairs offices in Dubai and sharjah to officially investigate the matter, said consul general benito valeriano.

" I am waiting for the official response of the governments of Dubai and sharjah to my verbal note with the statements submitted by the victims to the consulate-general,"Valeriano said in an article posted on UAE-based news site khaleej Times.

Valeriano noted that many of these Filipinpos lost their jobs after spending time in jail. " I have to act swiftly on this complaint as this is victimizing filipinos," he added.

Two hundred people in all were affected by the scam, 22 of which were Filipinos, who sought the assistance of the consulate after they were jailed for issuing dud checks.

The victims had given black checks  to a man running a debt collection agency in Deibra but claimed he would provide loan  extensions, but higher amounts were written on the checks.

One of the victims, Dubai resident Olivia Merino, said she went to the Naif police station on december 22 with her lawyers to file a complaint against the debt collection agency and the man who runs it. " My lawyers files a complaint with the prosecution on December 9 after a Naif policeman took me to Sharjah and was jailed there," Merino said. She said that when she went to file a complaint with the police, it turned out her name was there as a subject of a bounced check. Other alleged victims of the scam said they would see the director of the NAif police station to file their complaints.