Reading news about investment victims is depressing and stressful because it evokes anger against the perpetrators.
But oftentimes, I still read them just to remind myself that I’m not alone, that I’m not the only one who made wrong financial decisions.
About four years ago, my former-OFW-husband and I lost about 400,000 pesos in a failed investment.
Going back to the Legacy Group scam, here are some of the investors that lost big amounts of money, based on news reports on inquirer.net:
Boy Galang, an OFW in Oman
Galang invested 200,000 in Legacy’s double-your-money scheme. He even canceled his flight back to Oman just to submit his complaint, hoping to get back his money.
Over 12,000 Soldiers and Police Officers Including Colonel Ariel Querubin
The Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loan Association Inc. reported that 12,047 soldiers and police officers invested nearly 318 million pesos in Legacy’s Scholarship Plan Philippines through salary deductions.
Querubin said he had paid a total of 109,000 since buying a plan in 1999.
Legazpi investors
Investors from Albay put in between 200,000 to 37 million pesos in Legacy’s double-your-money scheme. The other regular plan holders bought their plans at 25,000 each.
160 Investors Represented by Lawyer Ceasar Distrito
These 100 investors invested a total of 200 million in Legacy while 60 plan holders invested a total of 7 million in pre-need plans.
Lourdes Redoloza, retired professor of UP Los Banos
Redoloza, 65 years old, invested 100,000 pesos in 2006 in Legacy’s time deposit scheme that promised to double her money in 5 years. She added another 250,000 years later, but Legacy dissolved before she could get it back.
According to Redoloza, there are a lot of UPLB retirees and professors who invested millions in Legacy.
Joe Lory, a naturalized American citizen from California
Lory mortgaged his house and cashed out his entire 401(k) retirements funds to invest in Legacy’s time deposit schemes.
Bien Donque, a resident of Talisay City
Donque invested 1 million in Legacy.
Investor who filed a syndicated estafa case with help from Senator Mar Roxas
Antonio Evangelista, an assistant hotel manager in Palau, filed a case together with other investors
Josephine Soriano
Soriano initially invested 100,000 in Legacy’s Scholarship Plan Philippines. Later, she invested 4 million in Legacy’s double-your-money scheme. She added another 1 million, putting her total investment at 5 million from 2007 to 2008. She has filed a separate complaint with the NBI Special Task Force.
Pontico Fortuna, a former councilor in Mandaue City
Fortuna invested more than 10 million pesos in Legacy.
House Speaker Prospero Nograles
Nograles invested 18 to 20 million pesos in Legacy. De Los Angeles said Legacy still owed Nograles 10 million.
Aurora Soriano, former Legacy employee
Soriano, 59 years old, invested 250,000 in Legacy’s pension plans.
Analisa Soto, co-owner of recruitment agencies
Soto invested 1 million pesos in the double-your-money program of Legacy’s Asiatrust Bank, which invested the money in Legacy’s bankrupt Banco Paranaque.
Dole Philippines Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative Inc.
This cooperative borrowed 70 million from Land Bank and deposited it at Rural Bank of DARBCI in General Santos City, one of the banks owned by Legacy. The millions were siphoned off elsewhere before the rural bank collapsed.
This is the story however that touches my heart the most, along with the story of the soldiers and the police officers:
According to Butch del Castillo of Business Mirror, he knows 3 siblings who inherited a house and lot near the center of Makati which can easily be sold at 20 million pesos. They mortgaged the property in a commercial bank and invested the entire loan proceeds in Legacy’s double-your-money scheme.
After Legacy collapsed, the property was repossessed by the bank, and now the siblings are staying in a small rented apartment. Certainly, for decades, the parents of these children worked hard to buy and pay for the house — and now, it’s gone.