Suspended barrister named in deception case

Ody Lai and Ester Ylagan during happier times.

By Daisy CL Mandap

Former employment agency owner Ester Ylagan has accused her ertswhile friend, suspended Filipino barrister Ody Lai Pui-yim, of using deception to have an Aberdeen flat she used to co-own with her husband (now deceased), to be transferred in Lai’s name.

The allegation was made by Ylagan in a complaint she made to the Central Police Station on Dec. 5, 2017, a copy of which she supplied to The SUN.

The SUN tried to get Lai’s comment on the complaint via email last January 23, and alerted her to the email subsequently on a group chat on messenger, but received no reply.

However, shortly after The SUN's printed version of this story was published yesterday, Feb 1, Lai posted in her Facebook accounts in the name of "Ydo Lai" and "Ody Apostol Lai" a vigorous denial of Ylagan's claim, saying in part: "I have nothing to do with scamming anyone  not even Ester who was supposed to be a friend. Police has no actionable complaints against me that warrants investigation."

Lai also warned: "This is pure DEFAMATION on my person just to sell a story and I now warn The SUN of the consequences of your news". 

Lai's FB post

The two women used to be close friends, and were both officers of the group Club Filipino Hong Kong. Lai, 56, was the founder/chair of the organization, and Ylagan, 65, was president.

In her 4-page cautioned statement, Ylagan said she consulted Lai in July 2016 about the money claims filed against her by some 200 job applicants who were unable to take up the jobs that she had promised them in Canada and Britain.

Ylagan said, “As far as I know, Ody was a barrister and I thus trusted her that she would represent me in settling the case. Ody was supposed to help me refund the applicants upon selling my property in Aberdeen. I co-owned a property with my late husband, and it was situated at Flat D., 6/F, Block 2, Waterfront South, No. 1 Yue Wok Street, Aberdeen Hong Kong. My husband and I purchased the flat in 2000 for about $2.38 million and it was a 2-bedroom flat with sea view.”

 Later, Ylagan said she again met with Lai in a Chinese restaurant in Tai Koo Shing to consult her about the sale of the Aberdeen flat.

 “Ody then asked me to transfer the property to my son and let Ody sell the property so the money will be used to refund the applicants. I trusted Ody and listened to her. Later, I recalled that my son Michael had brought a set of documents regarding the property transfer for my signature. I signed without looking into them in details. In Nov. 2017, I asked my son what happened to the property and he told me it was transferred to Ody because he does not know how to sell the property.”

After agreeing on the sale of the flat, Lai allegedly told Ylagan to go back to the Philippines “to rest”. Lai allegedly told Ylagan that the police in Hong Kong were set to arrest her so she was not to stay in one place in the Philippines and to change her name.

Ylagan also alleged that Lai told her delete all her whatsapp, viber and Facebook accounts and to stop communicating with anyone.

Later, Ylagan said she asked why she needed to stay in the Philippines, and Lai allegedly answered that it was because she didn’t have enough money to fight the case and she didn’t have a strong defense.

“She told me for sure that if I return to Hong Kong I would for sure go to jail if they could prove my criminal intent.”

At that time, Lai had already been suspended from practicing as a barrister. A decision handed down on Sept. 26, 2016 by the Barristers Disciplinary Tribunal found Lai guilty on all 10 charges filed against her by the Bar Council, and suspended her from practicing as a barrister for four years, and pay a penalty of $200,000 plus costs. The decision can be found here:
http://www.hkba.org/sites/default/files/Reasons%20for%20Sentence%2020160926_0.pdf

On March 3, 2017 Lai reportedly contacted Ylagan in the Philippines and told her to sign documents authorizing the barrister to withdraw money from her MPF account in Hong Kong “to pay back the applicants and legal fee”.

Lai allegedly sent Ylagan via courier a set of documents which included a “Statutory Declaration for Claims of Payment, request for policy surrender and MPF forms.

“However, after I sent all those documents (back) to Ody, I have never heard from her anymore,” said Ylagan in her statement.

Later, Ylagan said she learned from her son Michael that only $90,000 was left in her MPF account.

She also learned from The SUN that the cases filed against her by her job applicants were still ongoing. “I was shocked because I thought Ody is working on the case for me and I was speechless when I saw myself on the news,” she said in her statement.

Realizing that nothing was done to settle her cases, Ylagan said she contacted the HK Police and asked for an interview to clarify the matter.

She also contacted her son Michael who had gone abroad by then, to ask why the flat was transferred to Lai’s name. Michael reportedly told his mother that Lai would return the property after three years, and that they could deal with the matter then. Michael also allegedly told Ylagan that Lai did not pay for the property.

Ylagan said she had not tried to contact Lai since her return to Hong Kong because “I am very scared of Ody and she would go mad if she even knew I have returned to Hong Kong.”

Ylagan said she also learned that Lai had been suspended from practicing as a barrister.

High Court allows legal aid for Ylagan's claimants

The High Court has cleared the way for legal aid to be granted to around 200 Filipinos suing to claim more than $2 million from Ester Ylagan, the employment agency owner who promised them non-existent jobs in Canada and Britain.

The decision to allow the appeal against the Legal Aid Director’s decision rejecting the application of the claimants was reached during a chambers hearing on Jan. 18. It is  believed to be the first time legal aid was granted in a class action suit.

Solicitor Melville Boase represented the Mission for Migrant Workers in the appeal.

Mission case officer Edwina Antonio told The SUN: “Akala kasi ng Legal Aid e sisingilin sila para sa bawat aplikante, pero sinabi ni Mr Boase na kami na ang gagawa ng paperwork kaya hindi ganoon kalaki lalabas ang bayad sa legal fee.”

A total of 129 claims against Ylagan and her defunct company, Mike’s Secretarial Service, are pending at the District Court where they were transferred from the Small Claims Tribunal.

Twenty-one claimants had managed to win their claims before the transfer. The next hearing of the cases before the DC has been set to March 2 this year.

The court was also told that Ylagan had returned to Hong Kong, offering to settle the claims if she could recover the Aberdeen flat she used to co-own with her late husband, Rick, who died in October last year.

In its reasons for rejecting the application, the Legal Aid Department cited Ylagan’s unknown whereabouts as one of the grounds, apart from the failure of the claimants to show receipts of the money they paid the recruiter.

Ylagan returned to Hong Kong in December last year, and filed a police complaint  claiming the flat identified as Flat D, 6/F, Block 2, Waterfront South, Aberdeen was obtained by her friend, suspended barrister  Ody Lai Pui-yi, through deception.

A search by the Legal Aid Department showed Ylagan had bought the flat with her husband in November 2000 for $2.37 million. The property was transferred in the name of their son, Ridge Michael on July 23, 2016, for $2.6 million. Then on March 20, 2017, it was further transferred to Lai for a consideration of $5 million.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Police has reportedly given notice to some of the claimants that it is now ready to start investigating their fraud complaint against Ylagan, who disappeared just before the Small Claims Tribunal started hearing the cases against her in mid-July 2016.

The police had earlier declined to get the complainants’ statement, saying Ylagan had filed a complaint on July 8, 2016, saying she herself had been duped into sending $4.19 million to someone who used the names William Clinton Erich and William Clinton James on Facebook. Ylagan claimed $2 million of this came from her own personal funds.

In the complaint, a copy of which Ylagan furnished to The SUN, the veteran recruiter said she communicated with Clinton James only through the email he gave her: visagent@gmail.com.”. She had no mobile numbers or address for the agent. Despite this, she complied with his order to send money through Moneygram and Western Union to five people with African-sounding names who lived in Burkina Faso. She said she made 86 remittances in total to the given accounts.

Ylagan said she did not profit from the apparent scam. But the unknown agent promised her a UK passport, 15 return tickets to London, and an “opportunity to explore the UK business market,” in exchange for her recruiting hundreds of applicants for the non-existent jobs.

At the time she remitted the $4.19 million, Ylagan said she had recruited 400 applicants. She stopped when she was asked to increase the number to 650, then 800.

Each applicant to Britain was asked to pay $10,000 and $15,000 for those applying to Canada. A leaflet Ylagan had circulated said “any jobs” were available in the two destinations, causing hundreds of applicants who had relied on her reputation as a 30-year veteran of the recruitment business, to swamp her World Wide shop in Central between January to May, 2016.

BIG WIN FOR CLAIMANTS IN JOBS SCAM

by Daisy CL Mandap

  

Some of the winning complainants against Ester Ylagan are seen here 
filling out complaint forms before Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre on July 3.

Six claimants in a massive job placement scam have won claims totaling $56,000 against Ester Ylagan, co-owner of Emry’s Service Staff Employment Agency in cases heard separately in just one day at the Small Claims Tribunal on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Claimants Ronia Maria Benalio, Be-Ann Barranco, Richiebelle Aballe, Lumen Llagas and Mary Ann Cacho, were each awarded their claim of $10,000, plus interest and costs. Another claimant, Remia Guriel, won a refund of the $6,000 partial payment she made to Ylagan.

The defendant, whose Emry’s employment agency was the biggest recruiter of Filipino domestic helpers into Hong Kong, failed to show up at any of the hearings.

A solicitor she sent to the tribunal on Aug. 29 for the hearing of the first case filed against her told the court Ylagan was in the Philippines for eye surgery. The solicitor also said Ylagan would not pay any of the claims as she was herself a victim of a scam by an unnamed business partner in Britain.

After the solicitor was told by the court that he could not represent a client at the tribunal, a former staff member of Emry’s appeared on Ylagan’s behalf on Aug. 31, but was not allowed to represent her for not giving prior notice.

In the first case, Marites R. Moreno sought the return of the $20,000 she said she paid for herself and her Philippines-based daughter Michelle for the offered jobs in Britain. The hearing of her case has been reset to Oct. 14.

The same date was set for the next hearing of a separate case filed by Elvira Balajadia and heard on Aug. 31. 

A lone case was set down for hearing today, Sept. 2, for a case filed by Roseann Tonguia, a former domestic worker who had gone back to the Philippines after being terminated by her employer. However, the court did not allow this writer, as Tonguia’s designated representative, to appear on the claimant’s behalf, but gave no reason.

Ester Ylagan airs at The SUN office

Ylagan was a no-show herself, but the case was dismissed on the basis of Tonguia’s failure to appear in court. The court said the claimant could refile the case.

Tonguia was claiming the $15,000 she said she paid Ylagan for a job in Canada. Included in her evidence were documents seized by the Employment Agencies Administration from Ylagan’s office in Worldwide Plaza in Central, which indicated Tonguia did pay the amount she was claiming.

More claims are scheduled to be heard over the next few days.

Around 500 Filipinos from Hong Kong, Macau and the Philippines had reportedly been victimized in what appears to be the biggest recruitment scandal to have hit Hong Kong.

More than 200 of them have already filed complaints with the Philippine Consulate, but more have been showing up in recent days, finally convinced that the jobs promised them did not really exist.

The complaints have been forwarded to the Hong Kong Labour Department, which began interviewing the applicants in July. The investigation is ongoing.

The Consulate, through Vice Consul Alex Vallespin, has also sought help from the Hong Kong Police, but no investigation has been commenced. However, the police accepted a complaint for deception that Ylagan had filed in July against an unknown business partner, who allegedly cheated her out of $4.2 million.

In a previous interview with The SUN, Ylagan, a 30-year veteran of the recruitment industry, had named the London-based business partner as “William Clinton James” or “William Clinton Erich”. She said she never met or seen the man, and communicated with him only via email.

The Small Claims Tribunal in Wanchai

Following the filing of complaints against Ylagan, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, suspended on June 20 the processing of domestic workers contracts by Emry’s.

On July 2, Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre recommended to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration the cancellation of Emry’s accreditation after Ylagan failed to appear at a meeting called so she could explain her side.

In their claims, all the applicants said Ylagan had offered a variety of jobs, ranging from factory workers, sales staff, hotel attendants and caregivers, in both Britain and Canada, during briefings she conducted between January and May this year.

No educational attainment or work experience was required, because the jobs that would be given them would fit their background. The offered salary was no less than 2,000 pounds, and the contract was for two years. All applicants would be flown on a chartered flight to Britain, then on to Canada for those intending to work there.

Ylagan collected $10,000 from each of those applying to go to Britain, and $15,000 from those who wanted to go to Canada.

Several applicants had paid for several people, mostly family members back in the Philippines. At least one reportedly paid a total of $50,000, for herself and four relatives.

Ylagan did not issue any receipt, allegedly because she did not want to be taxed by the Hong Kong government.

All said they were enticed to apply because Ylagan told them she was the owner of Emry’s, which was highly regarded within the Filipino community in Hong Kong. She also told them that she had 30 years of experience in the recruitment business.

All the applicants were promised that they would get their “job orders” within three months, and they could all fly out by June this year. Later, however, she told them that the deployment had been moved to October.

Had they agreed to wait until October, not one of them would have been able to file a case because both the Small Claims Tribunal and the HK Labour Department use a time bar of six months for those who file money claims or work-related complaints.

‘Duped’ job applicants seek tribunal help in getting refund

The Small Claims Tribunal is in this building

At least 35 Filipino domestic workers have gone to the Small Claims Tribunal to seek the refund of between $5,000 and $20,000 they claim to have paid veteran jobs recruiter Ester Ylagan for apparently non-existent work in Britain and Canada.

They are among the more than 200 Filipinos who have sought help from the Philippine Consulate and the Hong Kong Labour Department, claiming to have been duped into paying for the fictitious jobs.

All the complainants named Ylagan, using her solely-owned company, Mike’s Secretarial Services, which used to have a shop on the third floor of World Wide Plaza in Central, as the one who briefed them about the jobs supposedly on offer.

During the briefing, Ylagan reportedly introduced herself as the “boss” of Mike’s and Emry’s Service Staff Employment Agency, which had an adjacent office. She reportedly told the applicants she would not risk the solid reputation built by Emry’s in its 30 years of experience in the recruitment business, by offering them spurious jobs.

Latest records obtained from the Inland Revenue Department, however, show that Ylagan has been replaced as co-owner of Emry’s by her son, Ridge Michael Ylagan, as of July 15 this year, two days after its Central office was shut. Ricardo Ylagan is the other co-owner.

Mike’s records show on the other hand, that “international recruitment” was added to its nature of business as of June 17 this year. Before this, its business activities were limited to “typing, xeroxing and internet surfing”.

Ylagan allegedly collected $10,000 from those applying for the jobs in Britain, and $15,000 for those bound for Canada. Most paid the total amount in cash, while a few asked to pay by installment. At least two of the claimants said they paid for themselves and another person, thus the claim for $20,000 each.

No receipts were issued to the applicants by Ylagan, who allegedly said she did not want to be taxed by the Hong Kong government. She said the money she collected would be sent to her partner in London for their FICC or foreign immigrant clearance certificate.

However, Ylagan reportedly made them fill up “bio-data” sheets and recorded their payments on slips of paper. Some of these documents have apparently been retrieved by officers of the Employment Agencies Administration of the HK Labour Department, who have given copies to the concerned applicants.

The applicants started asking for their money back when the “job order” reportedly promised by Ylagan did not come as expected in June. 

The claims are set to be heard at the Tribunal over several days starting on Aug. 29.

Meanwhile, both the Consulate and the EAA have continued their separate investigations into the allegations.

EAA officers have called about a dozen applicants for interviews on various dates, and have reportedly asked them to act as witnesses in the case that would be filed against Ylagan and Emry’s.

Ylagan was also reportedly asked to appear for an interview, but she sent a solicitor in her stead.

The Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, on the other hand, says it continues to receive signed complaints from Ylagan’s recruits, some of whom have decided to return to the Philippines after being reportedly told they could return to Hong Kong as tourists and fly out to their destination with the others.

Mike's shop in WorldWide Plaza is now empty

The developments came as solicitors acting for Emry’s and its “co-owners” Rick Ylagan and Ester Ylagan sent a “cease and desist” letter to Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre, The SUN publisher Leo Deocadiz and this author, in relation to the jobs scandal.

In the letter dated August 8, 2016, Wong &  Co. Solicitors demanded that all three “cease and desist all defamation of character and reputation of Emry’s, Rick and Ester”.

The demand stemmed from Labatt de la Torre’s act of suspending the processing of work contracts by Emry’s due to Ester’s alleged violation of Philippine laws against third-country deployment by recruiting Filipinos for jobs in Britain and Canada.

The SUN, its editor and publisher were accused of acting with malice in reporting about the complaints against Ylagan and of conspiring with Labatt de la Torre in making defamatory statements against her, Rick and Emry’s.

Asked for a reaction to the solicitors’ letter, Labatt de la Torre told The SUN: “I will not be deterred by a letter from a solicitor in pursuing what I think is necessary to advance and protect the interests of OFWs in Hong Kong”.

The SUN’s own stance is clearly reflected in this article. - Daisy CL Mandap

Small Claims Tribunal sets hearing of jobs ‘scam’ applicants

The Small Claims Tribunal is in this building

The Small Claims Tribunal is set to hear the cases filed by at least 35 Filipino domestic workers claiming a refund of between $5,000 and $20,000 they allegedly paid veteran jobs recruiter Ester Ylagan for apparently non-existent work in Britain and Canada.
The hearings are slated to begin on Aug. 29 and will last until the third week of September.
Consul General Bernardita Catalla has assured the claimants of help since most of them are unable to attend the weekday hearings.
Officials from both the Consulate and the Hong Kong Labour Department have encouraged the workers to file claims with the tribunal for faster disposition.
The claimants are among the more than 200 Filipinos who have sought help from Philippine and Hong Kong authorities, claiming to have been duped into paying for the fictitious jobs.
All the complainants named Ylagan, using her solely-owned company, Mike’s Secretarial Services, which used to have a shop on the third floor of World WidePlaza in Central, as the one who briefed them about the jobs supposedly on offer.
During the briefing, Ylagan reportedly introduced herself as the “boss” of Mike’s and Emry’s Service Staff Employment Agency, which had an adjacent office. She reportedly told the applicants she would not risk the solid reputation built by Emry’s in its 30 years of experience in the recruitment business, by offering them spurious jobs.
Latest records obtained from the Inland Revenue Department, however, show that Ylagan has been replaced as co-owner of Emry’s by her son, Ridge Michael Ylagan, as of July 15 this year, two days after its Central office was shut. Ricardo Ylagan is the other co-owner.
Mike’s records show on the other hand, that “international recruitment” was added to its nature of business as of June 17 this year. Before this, its business activities were limited to “typing, xeroxing and internet surfing”.
Both companies appear in the latest list of employment agencies licensed by the Employment Agencies Administration of the HK Labour Department.
Ylagan allegedly collected $10,000 from those applying for the jobs in Britain, and $15,000 for those bound for Canada. Most paid the total amount in cash, while a few asked to pay by installment. At least two of the claimants said they paid for themselves and another person, thus the claim for $20,000 each.
No receipts were issued to the applicants by Ylagan, who allegedly said she did not want to be taxed by the Hong Kong government. She said the money she collected would be sent to her partner in London for their FICC or foreign immigrant clearance certificate. However, Ylagan reportedly made them fill up “bio-data” sheets and recorded their payments on slips of paper. Some of these documents have apparently been retrieved by EAA officers, who have given copies to the concerned applicants.
The applicants started asking for their money back when the “job order” reportedly promised by Ylagan did not come as expected in June.
About a dozen applicants reportedly managed to get a refund from Ylagan in early June, after complaining to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and the Mission for Migrant Workers.
In an interview with The SUN, Ylagan said she would return the applicants’ money, although she had already sent them all to her London partner she named as William Clinton James or William Clinton Erich. She said she had never met the man, and had communicated with him only via email.
But a few weeks later, she filed a complaint with the Central Police station, claiming a business partner had duped her out of $4.2 million. The police say they are still investigating the case.
Meanwhile, both the Consulate and the EAA have continued their separate investigations into the allegations.
EAA officers have called about a dozen applicants for interviews on various dates, and have reportedly asked them to act as witnesses in the case that would be filed against Ylagan and Emry’s.
Ylagan was also reportedly asked to appear for an interview, but she sent a solicitor in her stead.
The Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, on the other hand, says it continues to receive signed complaints from Ylagan’s recruits, some of whom have decided to return to the Philippines after being reportedly told they could return to Hong Kong as tourists and fly out to their destination with the others.
The developments came as solicitors acting for Emry’s and its “co-owners” Rick Ylagan and Ester Ylagan sent a “cease and desist” letter to Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre, The SUN publisher Leo Deocadiz and this author, in relation to the jobs scandal.
In the letter dated August 8, 2016, Wong &  Co. Solicitors demanded that all three “cease and desist all defamation of character and reputation of Emry’s, Rick and Ester”.
The demand stemmed from Labatt de la Torre’s act of suspending the processing of work contracts by Emry’s due to Ester’s alleged violation of Philippine laws against third-country deployment by recruiting Filipinos for jobs in Britain and Canada.
The SUN, its editor and publisher were accused of acting with malice in reporting about the complaints against Ylagan and of conspiring with Labatt de la Torre in making defamatory statements against her, Rick and Emry’s.
Asked for a reaction to the solicitors’ letter, Labatt de la Torre told The SUN: “I will not be deterred by a letter from a solicitor in pursuing what I think is necessary to advance and protect the interests of OFWs in Hong Kong”.
The SUN’s own stance is clearly reflected in this article.

Ylagan granted bail after arrest

By Daisy CL Mandap

Ester Ylagan

Ester Ylagan, co-owner of the defunct Emry’s Service Staff and Employment Agency, was allowed to post bail early on June 9, after being arrested and questioned by Hong Kong Police for about 48 hours.

In an emailed response to a query on the status of Ylagan’s investigation, a police spokesperson said, “the 65-year-old arrested woman was released on Police bail and is required to report back to Police in early July 2018.”

The Police had earlier confirmed to The SUN that Ylagan was arrested on June 7 in Western District for ”conspiracy to defraud” and “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence” (also known as money laundering).”

The arrest reportedly stemmed from complaints filed by 210 individuals starting in 2016, alleging that they had been deceived by Ylagan in a job recruitment scam in which each lost between $5,000 and $20,000.

The total number of Filipino job applicants allegedly lured into applying for the non-existent jobs in Britain and Canada were, however, estimated to have been more, with the total amount involved reaching as much as  $5million. The applicants came not only from Hong Kong, but also Macau and the Philippines.

Lawyers acting for the complainants subsequently reported uncovering documents showing Ylagan and several other people close to her had sent a total of around $10 million to several countries as far apart as Malaysia and Burkina Faso. The documents were turned over to the police, along with the names of the others involved in the apparent money laundering scam.

Of the more than 200 Filipinos who sought police help, about 150 have filed claims to recover their money from Ylagan, and their cases are now pending at the District Court where they were transferred by the Small Claims Tribunal.

With help from the Mission for Migrant Workers, the complainants succeeded in getting legal aid to pursue their claims.

Ylagan quietly slipped out of Hong Kong in mid-July 2016 in an apparent bid to head off a possible arrest. Before leaving, she filed a complaint with the Central Police station against a London-based business partner who reportedly duped her of $4.19 million.

Ylagan said the business partner she identified as “William Clinton James” had made her send the money to unknown people in Burkina Faso, on the promise that he had jobs waiting for her recruits. For her effort, she was supposed to get a British passport, 15 plane tickets to London, and a chance to explore business opportunities in the United Kingdom.

Each applicant to Britain was asked to pay $10,000 and $15,000 for those applying to Canada. A leaflet Ylagan had circulated said “any jobs” were available in the two destinations, causing hundreds of applicants who had relied on her reputation as a 30-year veteran of the recruitment business, to swamp her World Wide shop in Central between January to May, 2016.

At the time she remitted the $4.19 million, Ylagan said she had recruited 400 applicants. She stopped when she was asked to increase the number to 650, then 800.

Ylagan returned to Hong Kong in December last year, and offered to return the applicants’ money if she could recover a flat she used to co-own with her husband, Rick Ylagan, who died two months earlier.

She also sought police help again, this time to file a complaint for deception against her erstwhile friend, suspended barrister Ody Lai Pui-yi. Ylagan claimed Lai had deceived her and her son in transferring their Aberdeen flat in the former barrister’s name.

Land Registry documents show Ylagan had bought the flat with her husband in November 2000 for $2.37 million. The property was transferred in the name of their son, Ridge Michael on July 23, 2016, for $2.6 million. Then on March 20, 2017, it was further transferred to Lai for a consideration of $5 million.

The police are continuing their investigation into the cases.

Labour urged to flex muscles vs missing recruiter

By Vir B. Lumicao

Ester Ylagan

Supporters of the more than 300 OFWs allegedly duped by employment agency owner Ester Ylagan have urged Labour Department lawyers to take a tougher tack against the elusive recruiter.

The call came as the owner of Mike’s Secretarial Services failed to appear on Jul 17 in Eastern Court, where she faces 23 charges of overcharging in connection with the alleged job scam in 2016.

Her absence led the prosecution to apply for another adjournment until Oct 20 for further legal advice and to find Ylagan’s new address.

Ylagan faces charges of “collecting payment other than the prescribed commission” after collecting $10,000 to $15,000 each from hundreds of Hong Kong-based applicants  for promised jobs in Britain and Canada.

The postponement was met with frustration by supporters of the complainants against Ylagan, led by Edwina Antonio of the Mission for Migrant Workers.

Antonio told labour prosecutor Gary Tsang that Ylagan had not shown up in any of the hearings of cases filed against her at the Small Claims Tribunal and the District Court.

Antonio is representing more than 100 complainants in both courts.

Tsang was also told that court notices sent to Ylagan at all of her addresses in Hong Kong had bounced.

This has caused the District Court registrar to advise the complainants to take every legal means available to pursue their claims.  Acting on the advice, the claimants had gone back to the Central police station to press their complaint against Ylagan.

At the same time, the claimants sought help from the Philippine Consulate to track down Ylagan, who has reportedly fled to Manila when the cases against her began to surface.

Antonio told Tsang that 129 cases against Ylagan were pending in the District Court while 73 others are set to be heard in Small Claims on Aug 28.

Two labour prosecutors were at Eastern court for the cases against Ylagan and Mike's and stayed until the hearings were adjourned in the morning in a vain attempt to face the accused.

For at least four times, the prosecutors and the court's clerk went around the courtroom calling out Ylagan’s name, but failed to get any response.

The court bunched the cases against Ylagan and heard them last before agreeing on the postponement.

Meanwhile, the District Court Registrar has ordered plaintiff Mary Grace Redulfin and defendant Ylagan to write the court on or before Aug 4 explaining their absence in a hearing on July 7.

Ho also directed Refulfin to confirm whether she intended to continue with the claim against Ylagan, and for Ylagan to confirm whether she intended to defend herself.

If both parties decide to continue, they must follow certain court procedures and appear for another hearing on Oct 13.

Emry’s manager claims being duped by $4.2 million

Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre meets with OFWs who complained against Emry's.

By The SUN Staff

Beleaguered recruiter Ester Ylagan appears to have jumped the gun on overseas Filipino workers seeking a refund of the money they paid her for jobs in Britain and Canada by filing a $4.2 million deception case with the police against an unnamed partner.
In reply to queries from The SUN about a notice posted on the door of Emry’s office in Wanchai which has been shut since July 3, the Police Public Relations Bureau said:
“Regarding your enquiry giving us the case number 16036631, according to the report, police received a report from a 63-year-old foreign woman on July 8 that she failed to contact a male business partner after her company transferred about $4.2 million to overseas as the placement fee for some job opportunities for domestic helpers.
Investigation along the line of obtaining property by deception by the District Investigation Team 8 of the Central District is underway. No person was arrested so far.”
The filing of the case appears to be in line with Ylagan’s claim made earlier in a recorded interview with The SUN that she had been tricked into sending the money paid by her job applicants to her partner in London who goes by the name “William Clinton James” or “William Clinton Erich”.
Ylagan said then that she had never met this business partner in person, and communicated with him only via email.
Her claim was immediately dismissed as “unbelievable” by other recruitment practitioners, who pointed out that with Ylagan’s 30 years of experience in the field, she could not have been duped that easily.
Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre was not convinced by Ylagan’s excuse, either, and ordered her to “show cause” for her third-country deployment of Filipino workers, which is prohibited under Philippine Overseas Employment Administration rules.
After Ylagan failed to comply with the order, Labatt de la Torre decided to put all work contracts being processed by Emry’s on hold effective June 20.
Labatt de la Torre told The SUN that Emry’s suspension remains in force, and that he has already sent an urgent request to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to act on his recommendation that the agency’s accreditation be cancelled.
Before being plagued by complaints about the apparently bogus jobs recruitment, Emry’s was the biggest recruiter of Filipinos for domestic work in Hong Kong, averaging five placements per day.
Ylagan acted as Emry’s manager, which used to be run by her husband, Ricardo Ylagan, who founded it in February 1992.  Ester Ylagan also managed Mike’s Secretarial Services, which has an office adjacent to Emry’s on the third floor of Worldwide Plaza in Central. Emry’s also has an office on the third floor of On Hong Commercial Building in Wanchai.
Emry’s office in Worldwide Plaza was shut on June 29, while Mike’s and the Wanchai branch were closed on July 3 ostensibly for redecoration, and a sign was posted on their doors saying they would re-open on July 26. They remain closed as of this writing.
Informed about Ylagan’s filing of a deception complaint, about a dozen of her job applicants decided to also seek help from the Central police station on July 24. After hearing them out, the police chiefs at the station agreed to take on the case, and notified the applicants that they would be called individually for an investigation at various dates.
Meantime, the Employment Agencies Administration of the Hong Kong Labour Department has started interviewing applicants, after getting a referral about their complaints from the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section.
During the interviews conducted at the EAA office in Mong Kok starting on July 19, the applicants were each furnished a copy of their bio-data and a slip indicating the amount they paid Ylagan. The documents were apparently obtained from Mike’s office by labour officers.
The applicants now plan to use these documents in pursuing their separate claims with the police and the Small Claims Tribunal.
In their written complaint to the police, the job applicants said Ylagan collected $10,000 from those applying to work in Britain and $15,000 from those seeking a job in Canada.
In several briefings she conducted about the jobs offer, Ylagan reportedly promised that they would be paid no less that 2,000 pounds a month, tax free, and with free accommodation. After working for two years, they would be given three months’ vacation with pay.
She reportedly promised that their “job order” would be sent to Hong Kong in three months’ time, and they could fly out on a chartered plane to London, accompanied by Hong Kong immigration officers, by June this year.
Ylagan did not issue receipts, reportedly saying that she did not want to be taxed by the Hong Kong authorities. But she made them fill out a bio-data form and a slip indicating how much each applicant paid.
Sometime in April, Ylagan told them that the job order was getting held up, but that they would definitely be able to fly out by October.
Alarmed by her altered promise and reports that they may have been duped, more than 100 job applicants trooped to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office on July 3 to file complaints.
Their sworn affidavits were later turned over by the assistance to nationals section of the Consulate to the HK Labour Department and the Hong Kong Police.

Tribunal dumps refund claim vs Labatt, Emry’s

A money claim filed by an employer against the owner of Emry’s Service Staff Employment Agency and Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre was dismissed on Nov. 25 when none of the parties showed up for the hearing at the Small Claims Tribunal.

Claimant Lee Chun Hyung was a no-show, along with de la Torre and Emry’s co-owner Rick Ylagan.
Adjudicator Anthony Chow ordered the case dismissed “for want of prosecution”.

Ylagan is the registered owner of Emry’s along with his son, Ridge Michael. His estranged wife, Ester, who was the co-owner until July this year, is facing a total claim of more than $2 million from hundreds of Filipino domestic workers who were allegedly duped into paying placement fees for bogus jobs in Britain and Canada.

Acting on the complaint by the maids, Labatt dela Torre ordered the suspension of the processing of work contracts by Emry’s, which used to be the biggest recruiter of Filipino domestic workers into Hong Kong.

The suspension order eventually resulted into Emry’s being shut down. Ester Ylagan then wrote a letter to the agency’s employer clients, pinning the blame on Emry’s sudden closure on de la Torre.
Dozens of employers who had paid Emry’s for the processing of their maids’ contracts had filed refund claims, with most winning their cases. To date, however, not a single claimant has apparently managed to get his or her money back.

Contacted by The SUN on the case, Labatt dela Torre appeared unaware of the case.

But he said: “It’s a no-brainer because I was performing my duty and it was all a a part of Emry’s scheme to harass POLO and to smokescreen (Ester Ylagan’s) scam which had victimized hundreds of our workers. Shame on her,” the labor official said.

Earlier, however, he admitted receiving summons for a hearing last month. He said then that he had consulted Consul General Bernardita Catalla about the case, even as he knew he had immunity from prosecution over acts done in performance of his official duty.

Meanwhile, two more domestic workers claiming $10,000 each from Ylagan were again made to do what most other claimants before them had done: amend Ester Ylagan’s address, and add her other company. Mike’s Secretarial Services in the complaint.
'
Sheila Cobol and Kathylene Pearl Andaya were both told that the summonses for Ylagan could not be served at her previously known address.

About 200 similar complaints are still pending before the Tribunal. Most cases have been consolidated, with the Mission for Migrant Workers being assigned as representative for most of the claimants.

Ylagan has not appeared in any of the hearings, which commenced in August this year.
Her representative said the defendant was in the Philippines for an eye surgery, and later, was said to be undergoing psychiatric counseling. – Vir B. Lumicao

Two more Emry’s applicants get refund after threat to report

By Vir B. Lumicao

Ester Ylagan, with her company's pledge

Two Filipinas who had been promised jobs in Canada and Britain which were apparently non-existent got a full refund of the up to $15,000 they had paid the owner of Emry’s Employment Agency after one of them threatened to report to the Hong Kong authorities.
But Fatima Toquero and Joy Ensenado were made by agency owner Ester Ylagan to sign a quitclaim on June 26 in which they promised not to pursue any case against Emry’s after receiving their refund.
At least 10 other applicants who had also obtained a refund from Ylagan, eight of them with help from Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre.
Four other applicants who went with Toquero and Ensenado to Emry’s were refused a refund, so they said they went to the Consulate to complain.
Toquero, a nurse who was promised a job at a hospital in Canada, got back the $15,000 she paid Ylagan. Ensenado recovered the $5,500 she paid Emry’s on March 24 for an unspecified job in London.
The “Affidavit of Desistance, Waiver, Release and Quitclaim” that Ylagan asked Toquero and Ensenado to sign before she paid them back was made in the name of Mike’s Secretarial Services, which Ylagan allegedly explained to applicants as a “baby” of Emry’s.
The document stated Mike’s address as Shop 356, 3/F, World-Wide Plaza, 19 Des Voeux Road Central. In Toquero’s case, it also stated that the money paid was for securing a “Foreign Immigrant Clearance Certificate” and Foreign Employment Clearance Certificate. For Ensenado, the lesser amount was supposed to pay only for the FICC clearance.
But in both affidavits, the applicants were made to declare that they were waiving the right to file “any legal suit, proceeding or desist from further pursuing or prosecuting any legal action” against Mike’s Secretarial Service, Emry’s and Ylagan in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
According to Toquero, they were promised that after the two clearances were obtained, they could already be given a job order. The said “JO” was originally meant to be released in June, but this was later moved to October.
In the meantime, Ylagan reportedly told the applicants to entice more people to apply.
The jobs offered were in hotels, restaurants, hospitals and schools, domestic helper, and others that were based on the applicant’s work experience.
“Huwag na huwag daw po namin kalilimutang ilagay ang domestic helper, kasi  iyon daw po ang karamihan ng work doon sa UK, kahit tagapulot lang ng plastic sa street,” Toquero said.
The applicants were made to fill up pro forma resumes where they stated the work they were applying for, and to rank them according to the order of preference.
Toquero said she had threatened to take Ylagan to the police and Hong Kong’s Labour Department if her money was not returned. This was after Ylagan had reportedly told the applicants that she would no longer give refunds as the money had already been sent to her partner in London.
“She said we should not treat her like a criminal because she had helped a lot of people for 30 years,” Toquero said.
Emry’s, the biggest recruiter of Filipino domestic workers to Hong Kong, has been in business for three decades.
Ensenado said Ylagan had told her sharply that God would punish her for insisting on a refund. “She also told me not to recruit people to demand a refund,” she said.
One of the applicants who failed to get her money back said in a Facebook group chat that when they got to Mike’s, Ylagan told them to write  down their reason why they needed to withdraw their money. “She said many other applicants are positive about the job prospects and have decided to wait until October,” she said.
Ylagan reportedly told them to wait for her call if they wanted a refund.

Ylagan’s address change again delays hearings

Ylagan 

By The SUN staff

A change of address of Emry’s Service Staff Employment Agency/Mike’s Secretarial Services owner Ester P. Ylagan has led to a rescheduling of cases against her at the Small Claims Tribunal, forcing her alleged victims to return to court on yet another day.

This developed over the past fortnight even as the Employment Agency Administration told The SUN it had already filed a criminal case against Ylagan.

The agency owner is being sued by around 50 Filipinos who each claims to have paid her between $10,000 and $15,000 for fictitious jobs in Canada and Britain. But the total number of those who claim to have been victimized in the jobs scam is close to 500, with about half of them filing cases with the Philippine Consulate.

A HK Labour Department official, however, clarified that the criminal prosecution of Ylagan is not a police case but a Department of Labour action. He said it was up to the police to file a separate case against Ylagan.

The agency owner has not been seen since hundreds of applicants for purported jobs in Britain and Canada began filing cases with the claims tribunal for refunds against her in July.

She also notified the tribunal of a change in address more than a month later, causing court notices to be returned unopened, and several cases to be reset so the claimants could amend her address, for which they had to pay additional fees.

 “That could be a tactic of Ma’am Ester (Ylagan), to delay the hearings until we the claimants get tired,” said one of the complainants.

Most of the cases have been consolidated and are due to be heard in big batches in November and December this year.

On Monday, Oct 24, the tribunal set for hearing 24 claims against Ylagan by adding 12 cases not heard on Oct 21 because of super typhoon Haima to another 12 originally set for that day.

The tribunal reset the hearings to Oct 22 but moved them again for last Monday, causing claimants who are mostly domestic workers to worry because their employers do not allow them to go out on weekdays.

The new amendments, which cost $20 each time, are also adding to the costs of the claimants. They already had to pay filing fees of between $50 and $80 each, depending on the amount of their claim, plus photocopying charges and transportation fees from as far away as the New Territories each time they are told to go to court.

But the biggest worry is still getting their employer’s permission to take at least half the day off for the hearing. Many could not even tell their employer about the case as they worry about being fired for trying to apply for a new job while still in their employ.

During the Oct. 22 hearings, the clerks of court ask claimants who simply wrote Ester P. Ylagan as the respondent to amend both her name and address.

“The respondent’s name should be amended to Ester P. Ylagan t/a Mike’s Secretarial Services,” the clerk said when she was presented a victim’s claim form.

She said Ylagan’s new mailing address should be 5/F Lemmi Centre, 52 Hoi Yuen Road, Kwuntong, Kowloon, as she had indicated in a reply to a court notice.

Apparently, she had also stopped picking up mail from her previously registered residential address in Aberdeen. The house, which used to be jointly owned by her and her estranged husband Ricardo, had been turned over to their son Ridge Michael on Aug. 24, the day before the first case against Ester was heard.

All claims that require amendments have now been adjourned until Dec 8, whereas those vetted a week earlier had been reset to Dec 1.  

POLO suspends Emry’s over job recruitment to UK, Canada

Notice of closure posted on the door of Emry's Worldwide House shop.

By Daisy CL Mandap

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office has suspended the processing of foreign domestic helpers’ contracts by Emry’s Employment Agency, amid reports the biggest recruiter of Filipino maids into Hong Kong was offering jobs in Britain and Canada.
Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre said he ordered the suspension on June 20, and asked  Emry’s to explain in writing within 5 days why it should not be penalized for violating Philippine laws against third country deployment.
But Emry’s proprietor Ester Ylagan reportedly asked for a further 14 days to explain their side, and also asked for a copy of the law against the said recruitment practice. “If she (Ylagan) does not explain satisfactorily, we will endorse the case to POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Authority) for either suspension or cancellation (of accreditation),” said de la Torre.
In the meantime, he issued the sternest warning yet against the recruitment of Filipinos for jobs outside Hong Kong.
In a Facebook post on his own wall and POLO on June 27, the labor chief said:
“OFWs WHO HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED BY THIRD COUNTRY RECRUITERS OR WHO HAVE ALREADY PAID ARE ADVISED TO BRING THE MATTER TO THE PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL, OR THE PHILIPPINE OVERSEAS LABOR OFFICE (POLO) OR TO THE POLICE AUTHORITIES”.
In another post on the same day, Labatt de la Torre reiterated that third country deployment is illegal under Philippine laws. He warned overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong against agencies that “advertise for jobs in the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries”.
He also told The SUN in an interview that he would personally draft the formal complaint by job applicants, and endorse the same to the Hong Kong Labour Department and the HK Police, if they would come to his office for help.
POLO’s move came as more Filipino helpers sought a refund of up to $15,000 they had paid directly to Emry’s owner Ester Ylagan for the promised jobs in London and unspecified parts of Canada.
Ylagan herself admitted to The SUN in an earlier interview that the number of applicants was around 500, and that she did not issue any receipt for the money they paid, but only noted each payment in a ledger she was keeping.
She also claimed to have remitted all the payments, around HK$2 million in all, to her partner in London she knew only as “William Clinton James” and “William Clinton Erich”. But she did not offer proof of any remittance being made to the person. Curiously, Ylagan also said she had not met the said person, and was communicating with him only via email.
A cursory check on FB showed recently opened acounts for each name, but no profile pictures apart from some random shots of Filipino workers who were supposedly working at “London Bridge Hospital”. Another shot was of Filipinos lining up at the visa counters of HK Immigration.
Following an inquiry by The SUN on why the owner of the accounts was not showing his face, both were locked so public posts could no longer be made. The SUN’s comment was also deleted.
On Sunday, June 26, at least two applicants successfully got their money back after agreeing to sign a quitclaim offered by Ylagan, but the others were not as lucky.
A video recording surreptitiously made by one of the applicants and shown to The SUN shows Ylagan telling those asking for their money back that they were giving up on the chance to improve their lot by quitting ahead of the promised deployment by October.
Two of those who insisted on a refund were made to feel remorse.
“Make my day...Alalahanin ninyo, sa ka-kawithdraw ninyo I lost money. Masaya ba kayo ng ganyan? Na I worked for your documents, tapos wi-withdrawin ninyo? But if you are happy like that, sige. Kasi ang pera ninyo, naipadala ko na,” Ylagan told them,
De la Torre said that so far, POLO has brokered the return by Ylagan of between $10,000 and $15,000 paid by eight other Filipino job applicants.
All were also asked to sign the quitclaim affidavit with Ylagan, which stated that the money they paid was for the processing of a “Foreign Immigrant Clearance Certificate” and “Foreign Employment Certificate”.
However, checks made by POLO with the Philippine Embassy in London and by The SUN with the Philippine Consulate in British Columbia, Canada, showed that there were no such documents.
Philippine officials at both posts also warned of the strict immigration rules applied to foreign workers seeking jobs there, which have become even more stringent lately. In Canada, for example, no placement fee should be collected from a job applicant, and no job application could be processed without a labour market impact assessment (LMIA, formerly LMO) being obtained beforehand.
In both countries, only a very limited number of posts are available, and they are mostly for caregivers or nurses. Factory or low-grade office work, which were among those reportedly promised by Ylagan, are definitely not available for imported workers.
While the case is being investigated, Labatt de la Torre warned Ylagan against continuing the recruitment, but this was apparently not heeded. A number of those who trooped to Worldwide House where Emry’s office and that of its affiliate business, Mike’s Secretarial Services, are located, reported seeing Ylagan accepting more applicants for the apparently non-existent jobs.

Ex-HK OFWs seek Phl labor officials’ help in pursuing illegal recruiter

OFW victims meet with Philippines officials led by Labor Undersecretary Bernard P. Olalia.

By Daisy CL Mandap

Three former overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong met with top labor officials in Manila on Oct 25 to formally ask for help in pursuing elusive recruiter Ester Ylagan.

During the meeting at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration office, the OFWs bared before officials led by Labor Undersecretary Bernard P. Olalia how Ylagan lured them into paying thousands of dollars for fictitious jobs in Britain and Canada.

Ylagan, whose Emry’s Service Staff Employment Agency used to supply the biggest number of Filipino domestic workers into Hong Kong, is accused of up to 500 Filipinos in Hong Kong, Macau and the Philippines, of making as much as $5 million from the scam.

Each applicant who signed up for a job in Canada paid $10,000 while those who wanted to work in the U.K. paid $15,000 each.

According to anti human trafficking and illegal recruitment advocate Susan Ople who accompanied the complainants, the meeting went well, with POEA taking down the victims’ complaints.

“They (POEA officials) are inviting other complainants,” Ople said in an online message shortly after the meeting. “They promised to build a strong case vs Ester.”

POEA is also investigating no less than 10 other cases against Ylagan filed directly with them by victims from as far north as Ilocos Norte, to Davao City in the south. The Philippines-based complainants were paid for by their Hong Kong relatives, enticed by the prospect that they could all be together in their dream destination.

Ylagan and her self-owned company, Mike’s Secretarial Service, face more than 300 money claims at the Small Claims Tribunal and several labor cases at Eastern Court, but has not been seen in Hong Kong since July last year, when her illicit operation unraveled.

Before she disappeared, she filed a complaint with Hong Kong Police, in which she claimed to have been duped of $4.2 million by an unnamed associate.

Recruiter Ester Ylagan is believed to
have returned to the Philippines.

Because of this claim, the police have ignored claims of fraud by her disgruntled applicants.

Immigration checks reportedly showed Ylagan being back in the Philippines, where she is said to live in an upmarket residential block in BGC, Taguig City, purchased for Php8 million cash.

She reportedly bought another more luxurious unit in another area, but has defaulted on her payments after news about her alleged scam broke.

Many of the complainants are still holding on to the hope that they could get back the money they paid Ylagan, but the bottomline for most is that she be arrested and jailed for her misdeed.

“She might have a luxurious life on earth but she can never escape God’s judgment in the after life. Yan na lang ang sinasabi ko sa sarili ko para mabawasan ang sama ng loob ko,” posted Michelle in an online group chat.

She not only wants to get her money back, but also a long jail term for  Ylagan.

Emry’s owner admits laundering $5.7 million earned from offering bogus jobs

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Ylagan outside the District Court following an earlier hearing of her case(File)

After more than seven years of insisting on her innocence, the co-owner of the defunct Emry’s employment agency finally pleaded guilty today, Jan 15, to four charges of laundering a total of $5.7 million which she made from offering non-existent jobs in Canada and the United Kingdom to some 500 Filipinos, mostly migrant workers.

Ester Ylagan, 71, who was described by her own lawyer as “extraordinarily naïve and gullible,” appeared on the dock for the first time since charges were filed against her in June 2018, and was ordered remanded in custody until her sentencing on Feb. 2.

In court to listen to her plea were about a dozen Filipino domestic workers whom Ylagan had duped into paying between $10,000 and $15,000 for the bogus jobs in the first half of 2016. They had been told by the police about the hearing, and that Ylagan had agreed to plead guilty.

TAWAG NA!

The offence of money laundering, or “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence”, carries with it a maximum jail term of 14 years, and a fine of up to $5 million.

Ylagan had earlier insisted that she was innocent of the charge, claiming that she was a victim herself of an online scammer she named as “William Clinton”, who convinced her to recruit applicants for the bogus jobs, and to whom she had remitted all the money she made from the victims.

Her counsel, Michael Delaney, told Deputy District Judge Katherine Lo that it took awhile for Ylagan to understand that the offence of money laundering requires not just knowledge, but also “reasonable ground to believe” that she was dealing with proceeds of a crime.

PINDUTIN

“It’s not just what the defendant believed but what a reasonable, objective, person should have known,” said Delaney.

He also said there was a “substantial volume of evidence” that showed Ylagan should have known that she was being scammed, like the fact that she was being asked to send money by a person she had never seen nor spoken to, to such places as Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Turkey.

The person who introduced himself to Ylagan as a recruitment agent in the United Kingdom, also asked that the money be sent to someone called Joshue Ikechukwa or Rocky Sanchez, when his name was supposed to be William Clinton.

It even got to a point where Ylagan’s staff who were being asked to do the transactions began getting  scared, especially when by the end of  April 2016, the remittance companies started rejecting their remittance requests.

All the while, Ylagan and the man who called himself Clinton were said to be in “constant, daily and repeated communication” online, said Delaney, adding that he had never seen anything like it.

He said Clinton would be kind and gentle one time, then harsh, “almost borderline cruel” the next time, and was constantly putting pressure on her. 

Delaney said the person Ylagan was communicating with was an obvious scammer and fraudster, but she never saw him like this at the time. “The defendant just followed whatever he said,” said the lawyer.

To make matters worse, Delaney said Ylagan was also defrauded by a barrister who convinced her to sell her Hong Kong flat ostensibly so she could refund the payments made by the job applicants, but then proceeded to pocket the proceeds.

(In an earlier statement she made to the police, Ylagan identified the barrister as Ody Lai, who at the time of their consultation in November 2016, had already been suspended by the Barristers Disciplinary Tribunal from practising in Hong Kong for four years, and to pay a penalty of $200,000 plus costs, for 10 counts of malpractice).

Delaney said that 12 months after Ylagan filed her complaint with the police,  the barrister was arrested, although no further action had been made since. However, Ylagan is said to have applied for legal aid to pursue her claim against Lai.

The ad posted outside Emry;s office in WorldWide Plaza in 2016

According to the summary of facts read out by the prosecution, Ylagan was part owner of Emry’s which was founded in 1992. She later set up Mike’s Secretarial Services in 2013 and she operated  it as a sole proprietorship.

From December 2015  to May 2016 Ylagan advertised in a Filipino community newspaper (not The SUN) regarding job offers in Canada and the UK, and also posted information about this on her shop in WorldWide Plaza.

During regular orientations she conducted for the applicants, she said those who wanted to apply for jobs in Canada should pay $15,000 while those who wanted to work in the UK should pay $10,000. The fees are supposed to be for the FICC (or Foreign Immigrant Clearance Certificate” and  FCC (“Foreign Employment Certificate”) and are non-refundable.

In fact, said the prosecutor, the FCC or FICC is not needed before one can take up a job in either of the two offered destinations.

Ylagan promised the jobseekers that they would be paid no less that 2,000 pounds a month, tax free, and given free accommodation. After working for two years, they would be given three months’ vacation with pay. She also promised that they could leave in three months on a chartered plane to London, accompanied by Hong Kong immigration officers.

According to the prosecution, more than 500 Filipino domestic workers were lured by these promises, , paying Ylagan a total of more than $6 million.  Between January and June 2016, part of this sum was remitted to overseas channels.

'What about us?,' asked some of the copmplainants who attended court along with 
Ester Bangcawayan from the Mission for Migrant Workers 

In the first charge, Ylagan is accused of sending to Malaysia, Nigeria and Burkina Faso  between Jan 29 and May 5, 2016, a total of of HK$2,633,181.52 and US$44,658 (HK$347,439). The total sum of HK$2,980,620 was dealt with in cash.

In the second count which happened between May 12 to 23, 2016, the total sum of USD300,00 (HK2,334,000) was moved by Ylagan from an account with Standard Chartered Bank to a recipient in Turkey.

In the third count, Ylagan, using an account she held at HSBC, again sent to Turkey a total of US$10,055 (HK$78,227) between May 25 and 26, 2016.

She last sent a total sum of US$50,000 (HK$389,000) from her HSBC account on Jul 8, 2016, again to Turkey.

In mitigation, Delaney said Ylagan first came to Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper in 1984. She had gone to college but did not finish her course. At the time she was married with three children in the Philippines.

She later divorced her first husband and married again, this time to Rick Ylagan, who founded Emry’s in 1992. They had one son, Michael.

Ylagan has maintained a clear record for the past 40 years that she has been in Hong Kong. She is in good health though she has take medication for stress-induced heart palpitation.

Following her arrest she had worked as an assistant cook, but is currently unemployed, and depends on government support for her daily needs.

Delaney submitted that Ylagan “was not a willing participant in the scam,” made no financial gain from the transactions, and was extremely remorseful.

Delaney added that Ylagan received only about $4 million from her job applicants, and the rest of what she had sent to the scammer was her own money. But when Judge Lo asked if there was proof of this, Delaney said there was none.

The judge then asked Delaney if Ylagan had repaid some of the claimants, and he replied that only a handful got back their money. Judge Lo instructed him to submit proof within the next three days to show how much money had been repaid so this could be taken into consideration when sentencing. 

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