The SUN HK : Filipina DH linked to $2.8M love scam jailed 5 months

The Filipina pleaded guilty to money laundering at Eastern Court

A Filipina domestic helper saw her future job prospects in Hong Kong dashed as she was sentenced to five months in jail today, Nov. 9, after pleading guilty to money laundering before Eastern Court Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui.

Nancy Lontok Llave, 49 years old, was out on bail and was alone in court when she pleaded guilty to one charge of "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence," or more commonly known as money laundering.

She sobbed as she was led away from the dock to start serving her sentence.

PINDUTIN DITO!

The court heard that Llave’s account with Bank of China was among eight bank accounts used to launder a total of $2,816,089 that was taken from a local woman named May Wong in a love scam.

According to the prosecution, Wong fell for someone who befriended and wooed her on Instagram starting on Nov. 13, 2022, after which they became cyber lovers. The scammer had introduced himself as a construction worker in Malaysia.

On Dec. 10, 2022 the internet lover told the victim that his bank account in Poland had been blocked, and he asked for help in purchasing construction materials. The victim obliged, and made a total of 23 cash transfers to eight bank accounts, including the one owned by Llave, at her lover's request.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

He disappeared after failing to extract more money from the victim.

Llave opened the account on July 26, 2022, using as her mailing address her former employers’ flat at Riviera Gardens in Tsuen Wan. Between then and Feb. 9, 2023 when she closed the account, a total of $166,469.90 had passed through it.

A total of 34 deposits were made to her account, which were withdrawn almost entirely each time. By the time Llave had it closed in February this year, a total of $161,000 had passed through the account.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Before this, or on Dec. 14 and Dec 14, 2022 and Jan 12, 2023, three withdrawals of $3,000 each were made from the account, for a total of $9,000.

At the time, Llave was earning $4,800 a month as a domestic worker and had no other income or assets that would explain the huge sums being deposited to her account.

After the scam unraveled, Llave was arrested on July 18 this year. In her statement to the police, she said she had opened the account in anticipation of her salary being paid into it, however, her employer opted to pay her in cash.

A friend whom she said was a fellow domestic worker, asked to use her account, saying her own bank account in Poland had been frozen. Although suspicious, Llave said she agreed to the request, as the arrangement was to last only for a short time.

She insisted she made no money from the illicit cash transfers.

In mitigation, Llave’s counsel from the Duty Lawyer Service said the Filipina started working in Hong Kong in 2015 and was the sole provider for her 15-year-old son and her elderly parents. She sent nearly all her salary to her family back in the Philippines.

Although she initially claimed ignorance of the crime, she was said to be “truly remorseful” for allowing herself to be used in the scam.

Counsel also argued that given that the amount involved in the case was relatively small, a lighter sentence would be more appropriate.

Magistrate Chui said she was taking note of the mitigation, but said that the defendant had committed a serious offence, and that the sentence should reflect this.

However, she said there were no sentencing guidelines for this kind of offence, so she would rely on recent past cases in handing down the penalty.

She cited a 2013 case in which a starting point of 15 months was used in sentencing a defendant in which the amount involved was $290,000. She cited a second case which used a starting point of 10 months’ jail, as it involved the smaller amount of $95,000 but in which the defendant pleaded not guilty.

Based on these, she said the appropriate starting point was 7.5 months, and with the prescribed 2/3 discount for a guilty plea, said Llave should be imprisoned for five months.