British National Accuses Alveo Land, Serendra Inc. Of Condominium Fraud

Four officials of Alveo Land, land developer of the upscale and high-end property unit of Ayala Land, are facing criminal charges of fraud after a British National found that the sales documents covering three Serendra condominium units and two units in Legazpi Columns in Taguig and Makati were faked.

In a press conference held in Makati City, Andrew Gudgeon, 70, British national, former professor at the Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU), married to Leonila, Filipina, has filed 52-page complaint for 25 counts of estafa, falsification of public documents and violation of P. D. 957 (subdivision and condominium Buyer’s Protective Decree) before Taguig City Prosecutors Office against Robert Lao, President of Alveo and three other officials namely Peachy Pasana, Marishel Mendiola and Carmina Cruz, all senior management officials of Alveo.

Gudgeon also filed 10 counts of falsification by Notaries Public against lawyers Vitorai Carlos, Gervacio Ortiz Jr., and Archibald Rellosa, who notorized fake documents related to the sale of three units in Serendra in Taguig and two units in Legaspi Columns in Makati.

In a 52-page complaint filed last Feb. 5, Gudgeon claimed the four sales officials conspired to scam him by faking the deeds of sale and the titles of the five units.

Gudgeon said he bought the units in full amount worth Php 19.3 million in 2007 on a pre-selling basis.

He made full check payments inside the Alveo office in Bonifacio Global City. “

I paid for the condos in full, using my lifetime savings from working as a chemistry professor in the United Kingdom,” he said.

He said they bought the units for investment but when the construction of the Serendra units was completed in 2010, Pasana and Mendiola told him the titles were also issued but under the names of fictitious individuals – Melissa Aquino, Enrico Santos, and Gemma Budiosa – the two allegedly invented.

“For four years (since 2010), I thought I could trust them. I thought that the Ayala Land-brand would be a wise investment choice since I already decided to stay here with my wife and two kids,” he said.

Gudgeon claimed that in 2007, Alveo sales officials Peachy Pasana and Marishel Mendiola lured him and his wife into investing their lifetime savings for the purchase – on a pre-selling basis – of five condo units.

The couple, seeking to retire and permanently reside in the country, made full check payments inside the Alveo office in Bonifacio Global City where Gudgeon paid for the condos in full.

”I thought that the Ayala-land brand would be wise investment choice since I already decided to stay here with my wife and two kids. My wife Leola was even forced to leave the Philippines and become an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) in order to sustain our family here since I am already a retiree,” the 70-year-old said.

Gudgeon cannot trust the high ranking officials of Alveo because he approached Alveo, requesting to sit down and discuss the problem but Alveo just ignored him.

Gudgeon asked Alveo to investigate the case in 2011 but Gudgeon did not have any idea if Alveo pursued investigation to its officials, saying Alveo was too busy to do such.

When Gudgeon asked Alveo if they believed his version, Alveo allegedly replied that their officials told a different story , leading Gudgeon to be confused since Alveo just told him earlier that they had not spoken to their officials yet.

During the press conference, Gudgeon presented certified copies of BPI check payments, all indicating that those checks were issued by the couple as payment for the condos and also presented certified true-copies of the Condominium Certificates of Title under the names of fictitious individuals and originals of unmistakably falsified but notorized Deed of Absolute Sale issued by Serendra IN., and Alveo (involving the five condo units) to said fictitious persons.

When Gudgeon erred to ask about the whereabouts of his documents, Pasana and Mendiola said that his documents were named after different persons but told Gudgeon that he did not need to worry because he still owned the property.

”I promise you the scammers actually told me that they faked and did all of these. These notary public (shows document) has already broken every rule. He has never met me, never met them, and the things are signed by somebody else,” Gudgeon explained.

Atty. Argee Guevarra, lawyer of Gudgeon, said that his client made to believe that he was paying for (Gudgeon) condo but was later on named to fictional people invented by the sales manager. He was promised that it will be transferred to him later on.

He added the story the sales manager gave Mr. Gudgeon was that they were not supposed to release the condo to him so it was released to other people instead.

“That’s absolutely false. If they’re in trouble for releasing to us then they’re also in trouble for releasing it to somebody else,” he told reporters.

”Obviously, this is a job perpetrated by high ranking officials of Alveo, which is a subsidiary of Ayala Land. Where they profiled and target of seemingly clueless buyers like Mr. Gudgeon whom they can literally steal condo units from. So it’s like “okay, this is a foreigner na matanda na and looks like in a few years time, mamamatay na, then I’ll be left with 5 condos since I (sales manager) invented the names.” The person who invented the names end up the one who will own the property,” he said.

He noted that when you buy a condo you have to provide certain selection of documents to support your identity and the only person who can do that again is the person who did it in the first place (but) they invent a buyer with supporting documentations and they can quite easily sell it from that person to somebody else namely themselves as they can own condos just by doing this.

The lawyer said that Every Special Power Attorney has been made by the exact same two people who left the company and these two people were promoted and transferred to SM Development Corporation. Real estate company, too.

”These two people are Peachy Pasana and Marishel Mendiola. Gudgeon tried to contact them but they never replied,” he noted.

Guevarra said with various authenticated and certified documentary evidence in his clients possession were conclusive proof that said Alveo officials and notaries public were all guilty of the frauds.

Meanwhile, the Taguig Prosecutors Office set the preliminary investigation scheduled on April 12, Tuesday. (PNA) RMA/CLTC