17 May 2008

DJ Montano: Shame Shame Shame


I lost 3.5 million.

WTF!
DJ, I'm coming for you mate.

Prepare.

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Saturday, May 17, 2008

NBI Arrests Filipina Accused of Swindling

A CRIMINAL complaint was filed yesterday against a Filipina accused of swindling an Australian into investing in an allegedly bogus business.

Shiela Gorres-Reguero was arrested inside a hotel on F. Ramos St. allegedly while accepting entrapment money from the complainant, Robert George McCartney, whose address in the Philippines is Little Ireland in Sta. Fe, Bantayan, Cebu.

The money, P30,000 in check and another P4,000 in cash, allegedly represented the latest of a series of payments Reguero received from the Australian.

McCartney told investigators that he sent the money thinking that Reguero would use it in their joint venture - funding the recovery of a sunken Japanese ship off the coast of San Isidro, Leyte, so it could be stripped of steel parts, which would then be sold.

Illegal

But Reguero’s lawyer, Achilles Cañete, described the warrantless arrest as illegal in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, saying there is no such thing as a “continuing crime of estafa.”

He said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should not have arrested his client but simply filed a complaint corresponding to the number of received checks before the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor.

He also denied that his client swindled McCartney of his money, adding that the business was still in the infant stage and that McCartney was either too suspicious of Filipinos or too eager to earn money.

Plan

“You don’t salvage a sunken ship for P400,000,” he said, referring to the total amount of money the Australian allegedly sent Reguero since their venture began.

During the inquest investigation yesterday, Cañete had Reguero sign a waiver of detention and said they’ll submit a counter-affidavit within 10 days.

They plan to have the complaint dismissed or have Reguero released while the complaint is re-docketed for ordinary preliminary investigation.

Reguero, McCartney said, misappropriated the amount and lied in the weekly progress reports she sent him via e-mail.

He revealed that he sent someone to Leyte to confirm whether a ship salvaging operation was underway. According to the person he only identified as Marivic, people in San Isidro, Leyte, had never heard about a salvaging operation going on.

McCartney, in his affidavit-complaint, said he and Reguero met sometime in Oct. 2007, after having been introduced by an Australian friend.

Their paths crossed again, he said, sometime in December of 2007, when he was in Bantayan Island.

It was there, he said, that Reguero told him that she was in the business of buying and selling scrap metal, recruited him to become her financier and introduced him to a certain Jerry, who owned a sunken Japanese vessel in San Isidro, Leyte.

He said he started sending money until it reached a total of P750,000.

He said he decided to put up capital for the venture and, last March 7, after he returned to Australia, sent a check for P300,000 that Reguero acknowledged via e-mail.

After that, he said, he sent money via Western Union.

McCartney said he returned to Cebu last April 26 and immediately called Reguero, adding that he wanted to go to San Isidro, Leyte, so he could see for himself the status of their project.

Reguero, he said, advised him to stay put saying it wasn’t safe for him to go to Leyte. McCartney said this was where he began to suspect foul play and demanded the P760,000 that he claimed was the total amount he sent Reguero. He also got another person, Marivic, to go to Leyte and verify the salvaging operation.

He said Reguero kept on assuring him that work was progressing well and asked for more money to hire divers, vehicles and other equipment.

It was at this point, McCartney said, that he approached the NBI. (KNR)

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Now, I'm not saying for one second that I'm not partially responsible for what happened to me in the Philippines.
But we've been over that before on the blog.
It's far too tiring and emotional to keep bringing it up again.
And it's still very painful because I'm still very angry at DJ.

I understand, readers, that we all had within us at some stage the capacity to do bad things.
But scamming your loved one is very bad form indeed.
Especially if the victim is already a very generous and giving person in the first place, like me.
I've learned many lessons from my dealings with DJ Montano.
And I have shared these with you all.
Yes, I've lost my life savings after being swindled by a crook.
Yes, I'm about to start over.
And yes, I'm ready.

Please be careful, dear readers.

Do not send money overseas like I did.
I've let love rule my mind in the past like an idiot. No more though.
I lost everything because I am a good, honest person and I trusted DJ way too quickly.
I'm a little too Western for my own good, dear readers.
I still believe in love, even though my life was destroyed by it for some time.
My heart grows stronger every day.
I still feel very foolish and broke, readers, but I'm ready for my future now.
At least I've still got a future. Unlike DJ.
He'll be arrested one day, readers. Trust me. I have all the proof.
And he has nothing.

You should never, ever send money unless you are 100000% sure you know what your doing.
And I was 1000000% sure I knew what I was doing. So there you have it.
Trust no one except your Mummy and your dogs. Hahaha.
Some people are just targets.
I've been a target my whole life.
I was DJ Montano's target.
And his aim was flawless.

Bulls eye, DJ.

If you want to start a business in the Philippines, I suggest you move there first.

Some people will scam you all over the world, not just the Philippines.
It happens here in Australia as well, I'm sure. And the rest of the world.
It just happens so much more in the Philippines for so many reasons.
And this has to stop.
But we all know that it really can't stop.
Because some people love the current corrupt system in the Philippines.
It works well for them. Most of them helped to create it.
Why would they change things?
They can't see the poor from their compounds.
Or from behind their tinted windows.

People and investment is already leaving the Philippines.
Investment is drying up slowly because you can't trust anyone in business there.
You have to know the very tricky game in the Philippines, or you will lose your shirt before your pants hit the floor.
It's cowboy country.
That's why DJ Montano managed to scam for fifteen years and he still walks free.
DJ should be in jail.
Not only for stealing my money, but for all the other things he's done.
Millions and millions he owes.
People are still afraid to come out against DJ and his crimes. I understand this.
The system is designed to help people like DJ and his kind.
And it punishes those people who dare to ask questions and speak out.
That's why people will not come out against DJ.
I'm the only one brave enough to crack this Balut egg wide open.
Corruption is in DJ's blood.
It's time for a transfusion.
It's long overdue.

The ground is already very shaky under Manila.
The quake's epicenter will ultimately take place there, unless things change.
Greenbelt or ground zero?
Doing business there is fraught with danger, if you are not connected.
Or know how to work in this corrupt system.
The stories I have are epic.
The Philippine justice system can be an absolute joke at times as we all know.
You can buy verdicts in Manila, and jail terms are squashed overnight while we sleep. And DJ's family still has connections.
Don't forget, they are Montanos.
Well, disgraced Montanos now.

We can't obtain the files from the Makati police station.
We have tried everything. This whole thing is a fucking joke, readers.
What chance do I have getting DJ to court in Manila?
My lawyer shakes his head in disbelief. He is disgusted as am I.

Some people want me to MOVE to Manila for three years and fight.
And do battle with the Montanos.
Give up another HUGE chunk of my life to do battle in a Philippine court?
Against a corrupt family?
No thanks.
These people would think twice, if they were the one with HIV.

Please learn from my disaster, dear readers.
I was tricked by a very clever little Pinoy.
I was scammed by my boyfriend who was supposed to help me, not devastate my life beyond recognition.
But he has no conscience, so as many others like him.

You can move to the Philippines, readers, and then start your business.
I should've done that.
If I had, I'd STILL be there living my life.
Doing good for others maybe.
Being a mate to many for sure.
A trusted friend to everyone.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Who knows?

I could still create a business in the Philippines if I wanted to.
I'd have to save all over again though, which will take a few years.
But I won't do this now, obviously.
I was told that 99.9% of death threats are disposable.
But it's the other 1% that I worry about.
And I DO worry.

I really enjoyed my life in Boracay.
But it's well and truly over now.
I also enjoyed my career in Sydney before I got sick.
I've enjoyed many things in my life.
I am looking forward to starting over again in Toronto.
My friends and family are waiting for me.
I've learned enough lessons about being scammed to last me for the rest of my life.
Which will be brilliant for me.
If I have anything to say about it peeps.

All the best
.
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