THE Office of the Public Prosecutor in Italy is expected to start its investigation into the alleged illegal recruitment activities of a Milan-based immigration consultancy firm that allegedly scammed nearly 300 Filipino jobseekers last year.
The Philippine Consulate General in Milan said it has filed 92 complaints for fraud against the owners of the Alpha Assistenza SRL.
It said it will file another 10 complaints “as soon as concerned complainants submit the necessary supporting documents.”
“The Consulate, through its lawyer Bruno De Blasi, conveyed to the Office of the Public Prosecutor today that it could proceed with its formal investigation with the filing of 92 out of 102 complaints against the owners of Alpha Assistenza SRL,” the consulate said, adding it expects the probe to “start anytime soon.”
The investigation, which the consulate could “take at least six months,” comes more than a month after De Blasi initially filed 11 complaints against Alpha Assistenza owners Krizelle Diane Respicio and Frederick Dutaro.
The case against the firm stemmed from allegations that it collected huge amounts of money from relatives and associates in Italy of at least 278 Filipinos in the Philippines but failed to deliver on its promise to provide them jobs under Italy’s “Decreto Flussi” program.
Each of the Filipinos allegedly shelled out as much as P180,000 to land a job in Italy.
In October last year, Philippine Consul General Elmer Cato said the consulate has been “in close collaboration” with Italian authorities as early as September 4, 2023 when they first received reports from relatives and representatives of Filipinos who were conned into shelling out cash for what turned out to be non-existing jobs in Italy.
Cato said he also met last year with Prefect Renato Saccone, the highest ranking Italian federal government representative in Milan, where the latter informed him of the creation of a task force to assist the consulate in filing appropriate cases against those involved.
The task force will also work with lawyers to be provided by the Department of Migrant Workers and the Department of Foreign Affairs in filing the cases.
