POLICE operatives arrested a former security guard soliciting cash using the fake Facebook (FB) account of National Capital Region Police Office Director Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez, which the suspect created.
NCRPO spokesman Lt. Col. Eunice Salas said the suspect, identified as Darell John Green, was nabbed last Saturday night in Olongapo City by virtue of an arrest warrant for robbery.
Salas said the suspect, of African-American descent, had four other standing warrants for qualified theft.
Salas said the suspect will face additional charges for computer-related identity theft and estafa in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
Sometime last week, Salas said they received reports about the fake FB account of Nartatez which was being used to solicit funds for a basketball team’s uniforms.
The suspect asked the victims to send donations to a GCash account under the name of a former police officer, who denied owning the account, said Salas.
Salas said further investigation showed the suspect also created Viber and Instagram accounts using the cellphone number being used in the GCash account.
“Based on our investigation, many did not believe (the solicitation) because they know the regional director will not do that,” Salas said when asked if the suspect managed to solicit funds.
Salas said the suspect also used fake social media accounts of other police officers, including Quezon City Police District Chief Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan, in online scamming.
Salas said Nartatez ordered a thorough investigation after learning that his name was being used in an online scam.
She said the suspect was tracked and subsequently arrested in Barangay Barreto, Olongapo City at around 9 a.m. last Saturday through the PNP’s “relentless efforts of intelligence research.”
Seized from the suspect’s possession were a mobile phone, a black belt bag containing Philhealth and Bureau of Internal Revenue identification cards, and three SIM cards.
Salas said Green is detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City undergoing custodial debriefing to identify his possible cohorts.
