Filipina jailed 22 months in $2.2 million laundering case

 

A Filipina’s defense that she did not open -- much less control -- two bank accounts that were subsequently used to launder more than $2.2 millon, failed to convince the Eastern Court today to acquit her, resulting in her being jailed for 22 months.

Annaliza Talay, 48 years old, was actually sentenced to two jail terms of 22 months each, one for  laundering $1,746,610.41 of "dirty" money in her account at Mox Bank between 19 and 28 March 2023, and another $478,121.52 between 19 and 27 March 2023 in her account at ZA Bank.

But Deputy Magistrate Chung Wing-sze ordered that the two sentences run at the same time, thus the final sentence of 22 months.

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Her conviction was for dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence, contrary to sections 25(1) and 25(3) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.

In her verdict, Magistrate Chung described as “incredible and illogical” Talay’s testimony that she had never had any bank account in her life, having arrived in Hong Kong in 2019 to work as a domestic helper and worked in Singapore before that.

She also gave little weight to Talay’s testimony that it all began when she tried to borrow money from a friend, who referred her to a certain Ruby, who in turn promised to give her $500 if she registered for online gaming, using her Hong Kong ID.

Talay testified that she was convinced that the registration was legit when she saw six other persons who had fallen in line to register.

The Chinese male who received her took pictures of her HKID and even asked to reshoot her face because earlier authentication shots did not meet the standards set by the purported gaming company.

After the online gaming registration, which turned out to be the opening of her accounts with Mox Bank and ZA Bank, Ruby gave her only $300, Talay had testified.

While she was not operating the accounts, she allowed others to operate them, Magistrate Chung said.

Migrant workers warned anew against sharing their HKIDs for fee

 

The Philippine Consulate posted this warning against sharing one's HKID card only last June

Never share your Hong Kong ID card and other personal documents with anyone in exchange for money, no matter how tempting or seemingly harmless the offer, as it would most likely lead you to jail.

This warning, repeatedly made by the Philippine Consulate and by the Hong Kong Police over the years, is being brought to the fore again, after a group of Filipino domestic workers was again lured to sharing their HKIDs and work contracts in exchange for HK$1,000.

This information was shared with The SUN by one of its readers, a Filipina domestic worker who said her friend was taken somewhere in Tsuen Wan on Jan. 4 where her HKID and contract were copied, after which she was paid $1,000.

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This friend, in turn, sent her a chat message asking her if she was interested in doing the same thing, and offered to take her to the same place. The HKID and contract details were supposed to be used for registering with an Indonesian SIM card.

“Pero nag-alanganin ako kasi sa mga nababasa ko sa news ninyo about money laundering,” said R.Q., who sent out the alert about the new identity theft scam. (But I hesitated because of what I have been reading in your news reports about money laundering).

R.Q. relayed her concern to her friend, who instantly got alarmed and scared at the prospect that her personal information would be used by syndicates in opening a bank account in her name, and then use this to launder money.

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“Yan din nga ang sinabi ko sa kanya, bakit di nila naisip na bibigyan sila ng ganoon kalaki na halaga kapalit ng picture ng ID at kontrata nila,” said R.Q. (That’s exactly what I told her. They should have wondered why they’d be given that much money for merely sharing pictures of their HKID card and contract).

R.Q. was told to bring her friend to the Consulate as soon as possible so they can be helped in reporting the matter to the police, and possibly prevent the syndicate from using the friend’s identity to launder dirty money or commit another serious crime.

Just last June, an OFW was sentenced to 22 months in prison after $2.2 million was discovered to have passed through her accounts with two online banks. Despite the OFW’s claim that she merely lent her HKID card so she could be registered for an online game, the judge was not convinced.

Read the story here: https://www.sunwebhk.com/search?q=filipina+jailed+22+months

Tomorrow, Jan. 12, another Filipina found to have dealt with $8.8 million in her three bank accounts, the biggest amount ever linked to a foreign domestic worker in a money laundering case, is due to be sentenced at the High Court.

She failed to convince the judge that she did not know that her HKID card would be used to open the bank accounts through which the tainted money had passed.

She claimed the syndicate behind the crime had made her believe she was only registering her personal information for an online game. The story is here: https://www.sunwebhk.com/2025/12/district-court-finds-filipina-guilty-of.html

Filipina torture claimant jailed 15 months for illegal work

By The SUN 

Immigration officers during an anti-illegal work operation on May 20

A 42-year-old Filipina torture claimant was jailed for 15 months by a Tuen Mun magistrate on May 22 for working illegally as a restaurant dishwasher. 

The arrest of the Filipina came as the Immigration Department mounted a series of anti-illegal worker operations on May 17 and 20 that netted a total of nine suspected illegal workers and four suspected employers. 

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The identity and other particulars of the jailed woman were not revealed by Immigration due to privacy concerns, the department’s information office said in a telephone enquiry.

A government press release said the Filipina was charged in Tuen Mun Court with landing in Hong Kong unlawfully and staying without authority from the Immigration director or while being a person on whom a removal or deportation order was in force.

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The woman pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced by Magistrate Li Chi-ho to 15 months’ imprisonment.

An information officer said the woman’s employer was also being investigated and would be prosecuted for the illegal employment.

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The press release said the woman was arrested while working as a dishwasher in a restaurant in Tai Po during a raid by Immigration officers on May 20.

The officers checked the woman’s identity and found out she had recognizance form issued by Immigration that prohibits her from taking employment. Further investigation showed she was applying for non-refoulement as a torture claimant.

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In the other anti-illegal operations, officers raided 68 target locations including food and beverage areas, factories, a garbage collection depot, massage parlors, residential buildings, restaurants, a retail shop and a warehouse.

Eight suspected illegal workers comprising a man and seven women aged 30 to 55 were arrested. Two men and a woman aged 44 to 46, who were suspected of employing the illegal workers were also arrested.

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A combined Immigration/police operation codenamed “Champion,” raided a loading/ unloading bay inside the Hong Kong International Airport cargo terminal and arrested a male suspected illegal worker and his employer.

The man, aged 29, was a holder of a recognizance form, which prohibits him from taking any job. A 22-year-old man suspected of employing him was also arrested.

An Immigration spokesman warned that illegal immigrants or people who are subject to a removal or deportation order are prohibited from taking any employment paid or unpaid, or setting up or joining in any business.

Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment, the spokesman said. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment should be applied in such cases.

The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000.

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Filipina jailed 10 months for stealing employer’s jewelry

 

A Filipina was sentenced today to 10 months’ imprisonment after she admitted stealing $163,000 worth of jewelry from her employer’s house  in Sai Kung during the last three months of 2023.

Sharon Tabareng, 39 years old, pleaded guilty to each of the three counts of theft as they were read to her at the Kwun Tong Court.

The main evidence presented against her were pawnshop receipts for the stolen items, and the statement from staff of a pawnshop in Sai Kung who identified Tabareng as the one who brought the jewelry to them.

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According to facts to which she agreed, her employer Yip Yuong-ming retrieved the first batch of jewelry she pawned for $40.000, consisting of 29 golden ornaments worth $100,000 she was said to have stolen from Oct. 9 to Nov. 9, 2023.

The second charge was for one diamond ring worth $30,000 which she stole on Dec. 20.

The third charge, formally added during the hearing today, was for a pair of earrings and a gold ornament valued at $33,000, stolen on Nov. 22.

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Acting Principal Magistrate Winnie Lau credited Tabareng for her guilty plea by reducing her sentences by a third, resulting in seven months’s jail for the first charge, and four months each for the second and third charges.

Since only 1.5 months of the second and third sentences were to run after the seven-month sentence for the first charge, the final sentence added up to 10 months.

In mitigation, Tabareng’s lawyer said she had been working as a domestic helper in Hong Kong since 2016, and this was the only time her clear record was broken.

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He added that her relatives banded together and contributed a total of $11,000 to give back to her employer as compensation for the theft, although it fell far short of the employer’s actual losses. 

Aside from the $40,000 she paid to the pawnshop to recover the first batch of her jewelry, she has yet to recover  the three other stolen items, which Tabareng had pawned for just $300 and $800, respectively  

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Filipina gets 10 months’ jail for conspiracy to defraud Immigration

 

Foreign domestic helper's visa

A Filipina who holds a recognizance form to serve as her identification document, has been jailed for 10 months for two counts of conspiracy to defraud the Immigration Department by presenting fake documents to enable two persons to get foreign domestic helper visas.

Gina Villareal, 52, was sentenced Thursday (Nov. 21) to eight months each for the two violations of Common Law and punishable under section 159C(6) of the Crimes Ordinance.

However, Acting Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong ordered that six months of the second sentence be served concurrently with the first, leaving only two to be added to the first sentence for a total of 10 months.

According to the first charge filed last Sept. 5, Villareal conspired with Aprilyn Tupas, Almira Narag-Chow and Homer Herrera to present bogus documents to the Immigration Department between an unknown date in 2021 and June 1, 2023.

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These documents became the basis for Immigration to grant a FDH visa to Tupas which allowed  her to remain in Hong Kong while working for Chow.

The complaint said the misrepresentation induced the Immigration “Director and his officers to act contrary to their public duty, namely to grant Tupas Aprilyn Tario permission to remain in Hong Kong, in circumstances which they would not otherwise have granted.”

In the second charge, Villareal was charged with conspiring with Liza Castillo, Jumiati and “a person known as Homer” to present fake documents between June 2022 and Aptil 26, 2023 to get Immigration to grant Jumiati a visa as a domestic helper of Castillo.

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It s understood that the co-conspirators also faced similar charges. Tupas, for example, was jailed for four months when she pleaded guilty to the same set of circumstances last Oct. 17 in the same court. (see https://www.sunwebhk.com/2024/10/4-months-for-lying-to-immigration-to.html)

Meanwhile, another Filipina was also convicted of conspiracy to defraud but magistrate Cheang put off her sentencing to Feb. 13 next year. She was released on bail of $1,000.

Elynette Montalban, aged 43, admitted participating in a conspiracy to defraud Immigration when she applied for a visa as domestic helper of co-conspirator Tam Ka Ki between June 22 and April 26, 2023.

Montalban was granted permission to stay in Hong Kong by Immigration officers “under circumstances which they would not otherwise have granted,” the police complaint said.

Also named as co-conspirator in the case was Kathleen Vizcarra, who acted with “persons unknown.”

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Filipina DH jailed 10 months in $834K money laundering case

 

A Filipina domestic helper was jailed for 10 months today after she pleaded guilty at the Kowloon City Court to two money laundering charges involving $833,935.01.

Jocel Pajela, 43 years old, was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment for the first charge of “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable crime,” and six months for the second.

However, Acting Principal Magistrate Ko Wai-hung, made the first four months of the second sentence run at the same time as the first, leaving two months’ additional jail term.

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The first charge arose from the deposits and withdrawals of $478,503 in crime money in Pajela’s Hang Seng Bank account between July 12, 2023 and Sept. 6, 2023.

The second charge was for the $355,432.01 that went in and out of her Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. account on April 18 to 29, 2023.

Both acts violated the Serious and Organized Crime Ordinance.

Meanwhile, another DH walked free on bail of $2,000 from the Kwun Tong Court today despite the addition of two more money laundering charges against her, in which a total of $2.2 million in crime money allegedly passed though her three bank accounts.

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Eva Rose Tacda, 47 years old, initially faced one charge of “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable crime,” according to the information filed by police on July 26, 2024.

The charge arose from deposits and withdrawals totaling $256,510.1 in her MOX Bank Ltd. account within two days, on Feb. 22-23, 2023.

The first of the two additional charges was for her alleged handling of $940,356 though deposits and withdrawals in her Standard Chartered Bank account on February 22-27, 2023.

Her third charge arose from the inflow and outflow of $983,839 in her HSBC account also on February 22-27, 2023, the police complaint added.

All of the alleged offences are  in violation of the Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance,

Acting Principal Magistrate Leung Ka-kie adjourned the case to May 20.

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Filipina jailed 12 months for role in $1.6m money-laundering case

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Gumabay said during her sentencing in Kowloon Court that she did not know her bank accounts were used by a scammer 

A Filipina helper was jailed a total of 12 months for her role in laundering nearly $1.6 million by lending her two ATM cards to an online friend she knew only as Williams, who used her accounts to move money from scam victims.

Estrella Gumabay, 44, was sentenced today, Jun 22, by Kowloon City Magistrate Raymond Wong nearly three weeks after she pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to deal with property known or believed to be proceeds of a crime, or money laundering.

Gumabay, a mother of two girls, wiped off her tears as Wong told her she committed a very serious offense and the amounts involved were nearly $500,000 for the first part and more than $1 million for the second part.

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The magistrate said the sentence for a similar offense that involved $1 million to $4 million was 32 months.

Given Gumabay’s clear record, remorse and guilty plea at an early stage, the magistrate sentenced her to 10 months in jail for laundering more than $1 million, and three months for the $500,000, with the last two months to run consecutively.

Gumabay was arrested last September after police investigating two online scams followed the money trail to her Hang Seng Bank and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp accounts.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

She said she passed on her ATM cards to a man who befriended her online and claimed to be British. She did not know he was an online scammer.

In mitigation, her lawyer said Gumabay was a victim herself, and that she did not benefit from the money that passed through her accounts.

The lawyer said his client had tried to help locate the culprit, but the man could not be found and it was unlikely he would be arrested.

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Before the sentencing, Gumabay gave the magistrate a letter in which she said was very sorry about her offense.

The case stemmed from separate complaints of online scams that two female victims, teacher Cheng Ngan-ping, 40, and hospital manager Chan Tsz-yan Cindy, 49, reported.

Cheng said she met a certain Dennis Leung on Facebook in 2018, who later on said he had sent her some gifts but asked for courier fees. She sent $21,500 to a Hang Seng account which Leung gave, but when he asked for more, she contacted police.

Chan had a similar experience with one Chiwang Chales who she met on Facebook. On Dec 24, 2018, he told Chan he had sent her gifts and asked for Customs payment. After she sent $19,500 to an HSBC account, Chiwang disappeared.

Gumabay opened an account with Hang Seng and another with HSBC on two separate days in August 2018

Investigators found the two accounts were listed in Gumabay’s name. She opened the HSBC account on Aug 18, 2018 and the Hang Seng one on Aug 31 of the same year.

About 30 deposits totaling $485,959.43 were made into her Hang Seng account, and 42 ATM withdrawals totaling $485,839.50, nearly wiping up all the money in it.

For the HSBC account, 37 deposits totaling $1,104,637.38 were made, as well as 75 ATM withdrawals and transfers totaling $1,104,300, leaving a balance of only around $300.

All the bank transactions, which were in Hong Kong dollars, were made between Sept 3, 2018 and Jan 18, 2019. The prosecution said they did not include the cash that Gumabay had used to open them.

After her arrest, police did not find any bank documents on her relating to the two accounts, or any related evidence on her mobile phone.

In two statements she gave the police, the defendant said she came to Hong Kong in 2008 as a domestic worker.

She said did not know Cheng and Chan, and neither she did she know their phone numbers and Facebook accounts. She denied knowledge of the online scams.

The defendant said she opened the Hang Seng account for her savings and the HSBC account for receiving a loan repayment from her friend.

Gumabay said after meeting Williams, he told her he was coming over for a vacation and wanted to send her money to spend on his visit. She said she agreed and when they met for the first time here, she gave her the two ATM cards and their passwords.

On their second meeting, he did not return the ATM card as he reportedly said he still had money in the accounts, Gumabay said. She said she wasn’t aware of how Williams used the cards.

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2-4-8 months in jail for 3 Filipinas in ATM money laundering case

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Filipina DH in money laundering case posted this photo of her withdrawing wads of cash from ATM machine 

Three Filipina domestic helpers who admitted giving their ATM cards to unknown individuals who used them to launder money obtained from illicit means, were today ordered jailed for two, four and eight months respectively.

Magistrate Edward Wong imposed the sentences when the three accused appeared before him at Eastern Court. Each pleaded guilty to a charge of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of a crime.

“No doubt the charges brought against you are all very serious. The facts of the case are also serious,” the magistrate said. “Given the nature of the charges and also the facts, plus the amounts involved, immediate imprisonment is inevitable,” he added.

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But he said the court would determine the sentence on each accused according to the circumstances of each case, particularly the amount that had passed through each of their bank accounts.

For defendant Fatima A. Sumcio, 47 years old, who admitted owning the HSBC account through which a total of $1,141,700 in illicit money was laundered, the magistrate imposed a sentence of eight months in jail.

Second defendant Judyline D. Astronomo, 46, whose HSBC account was used to launder a total of $569,600, was sent to jail for four months.

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The third, Ayishah L. Barton, 40, was jailed for two months as her HSBC account was found to have contained the smallest amount of $247,100.

The offences happened between April 17, 2020  and Jul 2, 2020. The money that passed through the bank accounts of the defendants reportedly came from a local woman who was fleeced of some $2.4 million in a love scam.

All the defendants had been out on bail until they were ordered remanded in custody after they pleaded guilty to the charges on Jul 22.

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The magistrate used starting points of 12, six and three months, respectively, in sentencing, but gave a 1/3 discount to all for their guilty pleas.

He had earlier said the accused were not “victims” as one of the defense lawyers had said in trying to ask for a lighter sentence.

The magistrate also appeared to have disregarded the personal circumstances of each of the defendants which were mentioned during mitigation.

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Sumsio is married with two grown-up children and has been working in Hong Kong for 16 years; Astronomo has worked here for three years, is separated from her husband and supports her mother and her son; while Barton is a single mother of three young boys and has worked in Hong Kong for 3.5 years.

As in their previous court appearance, the three Filipinas were supported in court by their respective employers, who all expressed an intention to keep them in their employ as domestic workers.

Barton’s employer was particularly supportive, even writing a letter to the magistrate to appeal for leniency.

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Outside court, he said he believed Barton was telling the truth when she said that she had lent her ATM card to a friend who promptly disappeared. The Filipina had been in Hong Kong for less than a year at the time, and was easily fooled.

Unlike her two co-accused who admitted receiving $2,000 and $3,000 respectively in exchange for giving up their ATM cards, Barton has firmly denied receiving any money from the illicit transactions.

The employer said he was sorry that the case took two years to resolve, and ended up with Barton being put behind bars.

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But he remains committed to helping her, and said that he had already informed the Immigration Department that he wished to renew their contract for another two years so she would still have a job by the time she gets out of jail.

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Filipina drug courier warned against seeking further sentence cut

By Vir B. Lumicao

These are the cocaine pellets seized from Penascosa at the HKIA upon her arrival from Dubai on Feb 13, 2016.

A Filipina former helper who was jailed nearly three years ago for 15 years and five months for drug trafficking failed in her bid today, May 22, to seek a High Court review of her sentence and got instead a warning not to push her appeal.

Court of Appeal Justice Andrew Macrae said appellant Imelda G. Pensacosa was lucky she got a substantial discount in her sentence despite being found to have lied about a fellow Filipina's alleged involvement in her case.

Penascosa had asked for a shorter sentence, saying she helped airport Customs officers in a controlled but unsuccessful try to trap the recipient of the drug on the night of her arrest on Feb 13, 2016.

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When Macrae asked why the applicant was appealing 29 months out of time, she said she needed to be with her children and her sick mother.

The mother of three also cited her work with prison chaplain Fr. John Wotherspoon in warning women against drug cartels that dupe them into becoming drug carriers.

She pleaded guilty on Nov 8, 2017 to trafficking in a dangerous drug before High Court Judge Gareth Lugar-Mawson just before she was supposed to go on trial.

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Her lawyer then asked for a lenient sentence, but Lugar-Mawson said the 33% discount he gave her was already light considering her delayed guilty plea, the amount of drug involved and the international aspect of the case.

Customs & Excise officers seized from Penascosa three metal boxes of chocolate which she claimed were handed to her at Dubai airport by another Filipina named Jennifer, as presents for her children.

The boxes were found to contain 248 pellets of solid cocaine weighing a total of four kilos. Inside was 3kg of pure cocaine with a street value of more than $4 million.

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Penascosa, a former domestic worker in Macau, said in a letter to Justice Macrae that she was not aware the metal boxes contained a dangerous drug. She said she met Macau-based Jennifer and her Filipino partner Edilberto when she applied for a job with the man’s employers there.

Summing up her case, the judge said Penascosa flew to Dubai via Hong Kong on Feb 8 on an Emirates Airlines return ticket allegedly bought by Jennifer, but found no job there.

In Dubai, two men – one of whom Penascosa understood to be Jennifer’s brother –gave her two mobile phones, one her for communications in the emirate and another, for her use in Hong Kong.

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Penascosa was also told to contact a certain Tony, described as the boss, who would send his brother Mike to meet her at Dubai Airport. Instead, it was Jennifer who showed up, handed her the boxes of chocolates, then boarded the same flight to Hong Kong.

But when Macrae asked for information about Jennifer, the prosecutor said it was on record that the Filipina was not in Hong Kong on the dates Penascosa mentioned. Macrae said Lugar-Mawson apparently did not believe her tale about Jennifer.

Justice Macrae acknowledged Fr Wotherspoon’s letter crediting the applicant’s help in his campaign for drastically cutting the number of Filipinas “drug mules” that made her one of the last 20.

But he said the 15 years and 5 months the appellant got was already two and a half years lighter than the 17 years and 11 months that would have been rightly meted her, as her offense normally called for 23 years plus an extra 5 years due to its international aspect.

The judge said she could still appeal, but warned her that if she does, the court could take back the extra two and a half years discount that she got because of the Jennifer spin.

Wotherspoon, who attended the hearing, expressed surprise afterwards at the disclosure about Jennifer not being in Hong Kong on Feb 13, 2016. He said Penascosa was lucky her extra discount was not taken back.

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