Court convicts officials of lending company for falsifying documents

OFFICIALS and incorporators of Dr Verma Lending Corp. have been convicted for falsifying documents that were submitted for registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulator said.

“In a decision dated April 5, the Pasay Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 47 found three officials of Dr Verma Lending Corporation guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Article 172 (1) of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), providing penalties for the falsification of public documents by a private individual,” the SEC said in a statement on Friday.

“The SEC filed the criminal case against Dr Verma Lending after the SEC Corporate Registration and Monitoring Department (CRMD) found irregularities in the Certificate of Bank Deposit in the amount of P1 million, purpotedly issued by BDO-Pasay Two Shopping Center Branch in April 2017, which the former submitted as part of the requirements for registration with the Commission,” it said.

The bank certificate was made to comply with Republic Act No. 9474 or the Lending Company Regulation Act, which prescribes a minimum paid-up capital of P1 million for lending companies.

Jelyn Orillo Borja, Uldarico Sahay, and Jessie Basarte Borja were each sentenced to imprisonment of up to two years and six months and were slapped with a P100,000 fine.

“As [Jelyn Borja, Uldarico Sahay, and Jessie Borja] knowing fully well that the bank certificate is a requirement and that their corporation does not have the money to put up the same, their reliance on fixers to procure such certification necessarily negates their excuse or purported lack of knowledge over the falsification of the same, thereby making them liable for the act,” the SEC quoted the court decision as saying.

The commission said this marks the second conviction the regulator has secured against illegal lenders for falsifying public documents.

“The SEC remains vigilant over the registration and operations of lending and financing companies, as part of the government-initiated crackdown against illegal lenders engaged in a “5-6” scheme and other usurious practices since 2016,” the regulator said. — AHH