A man who variously claimed to be a US Marine, a Jamaican and a Liberian has been arrested in Pasay City on suspicion of fraud.
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Dante Gierran said today (Thursday, July 11) that the suspect had been introducing himself as US Marine Corps officer Jerry Brown and was seeking a financial backer to recover money deposited at Global Cargo with a demurrage fee of $150,000.
The NBI concluded the man’s plan was to convince unwitting lenders to forward him money in order to retrieve his “valuable” luggage.
After setting up entrapment operation in a coffee shop, NBI agents seized from the suspect a US passport identifying him as US Marine Corps officer Jerry Brown and documents saying he had luggage stored at Global Cargo.
Prior to the arrest, the NBI had confirmed with the US Embassy in Manila that the suspect was not Jerry Brown and that there was no such person serving in the US Marines.
The Embassy also confirmed that the passport had been reported lost in 2013.
Even after his arrest, the suspect refused to confirm his true identity, calling himself both Justine Barlee, Jerry Brown and Jerry Rockstone and saying he was a citizen of three different countries.
The suspect has been presented for inquest before the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office for violating Article 177 (Usurpation of Authority or Official Function) and Article 178 (Using Fictitious Name and Concealing True Name) of the Revised Penal Code.
Koreans arrested
Also today, the NBI presented three South Koreans accused of smuggling cigarettes to the media.
The suspects were identified as Young Kook Kim, Jong Kook Choi and Gee Poon Lee.
An entrapment operation conducted at the shop of Choi in Bacoor, Cavite, on Tuesday yielded smuggled cigarettes with an estimated value of 500,000 pesos.
The three foreigners were brought for inquest before the Department of Justice Task Force Anti-Smuggling for violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
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