A Regional Trial Court of Bislig City has issued arrest warrants against the founder, key officers, and promoters of Kapa-Community Ministry International for their involvement in a P50-billion investment scam.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said the Bislig City Regional Trial Court Branch 29 on Feb. 11 issued the warrants against KAPA founder and president Joel Apolinario, trustee Margie Danao and corporate secretary Reyna Apolinario, along with promoters Marisol Diaz, Adelfa Fernandico, Moises Mopia and Reniones Catubigan.
The court issued the warrants after Justice department prosecutors filed criminal charges against KAPA for violations of Republic Act 8799, or the Securities Regulation Code.
“It is about time the people behind KAPA answer the criminal charges filed against them,” SEC chairman Emilio Aquino said.
“May this serve as a reiteration of the Commission’s resolve to stamp out investment scams and shield the investing public from fraud and other abuses in the corporate sector.”
The proceedings stemmed from the complaint filed by the SEC on June 18, 2019, against KAPA for the unauthorized sale or offering for sale or distribution of securities to the general public.
The SEC found that KAPA enticed the public to invest at least P10,000 in exchange for a 30 percent monthly return for life, without having to do anything other than invest and wait for the payout.
The SEC also found KAPA to have employed a Ponzi scheme, an investment program that offers impossibly high returns and pays investors using the money contributed by later investors.
The Justice department, in a resolution issued last September, found probable cause to bring charges against KAPA, affirming the findings of the SEC.
The department also accused KAPA of “willfully, unlawfully and criminally” engaging in the selling or offering for sale or distribution of securities in the Philippines without a registration statement duly filed with and approved by the SEC.