Scam perpetrators guise behind remittance center

Perpetrators of a savings scam who ran away with thousands of dollars gypped from Chinese garment factory workers were able to get the trust of their victims after hiding behind a remittance license obtained from the Department of Commerce.

Winfield Corporation obtained its license to do remittance job middle of last year and started accepting transactions exclusively from Chinese workers in the third quarter of 2000, records from the commerce department disclosed.

Based on the report submitted by Winfield Corporation to the Banking and Insurance Division, remittance transactions entered into the company by Chinese workers reached $346,505 in the third quarter of last year.

Authorities are still in the process of determining how much of these total amount was actually delivered to the workers’ families and relatives in mainland China and how much remained in the firm’s personal coffers.

Winfield, doing business as Long City Traders, is the company with which hundreds of Chinese workers deposited hard-earned greenback and later closed down, with some shareholders reported to have already fled the island.

Police have already started gathering information from the remaining shareholders of the company to shed light on the savings scam that stripped a big number of Chinese garment factory workers with hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Police recently unearthed two savings scam, including that perpetrated by Winfield, that victimized garment factory workers, involving hundreds and thousands of their hard-earned greenback.

Police are also looking at the possibility that the suspects used the funds deposited by the Chinese workers to issue loans to other businesses or individuals for higher interest rates.

These workers could have been spared from the illegal activities of unscrupulous individuals had the authorities acted swiftly on the advisory issued by the CNMI Department of Commerce in March 1999 against illegal remittances and financing companies.

“By utilizing and engaging in these illegal services and activities, garment workers stand the risk of not being able to see their hard-earned dollars again should these individuals or companies fail to perform their obligations,” said Commerce Secretary Frankie Villanueva in a March 17, 1999 letter to officials of garment firms.

Mr. Villanueva, then, advised that Chinese garment workers should be notified that they should remit or make transactions only with licensed remittance and financing companies.

However, it was not clear whether the commerce department initiated any investigation to promptly determine the existence of companies that are into illegal finance and remittance transactions that time.

There was also no report whether or not the commerce department initiated an intensified public campaign against these illegal companies considering the fact that it has admitted to receiving reports that such activities occur.

During that time, only two remittance companies are licensed to serve China: Universal Group Development, Inc. in Middle Road, Chalan Laulau and New Century Development Inc. doing business as Far East Finance in Garapan.

Winfield, licensed in middle of the year 2000, was the third remittance company that caters exclusively to Chinese workers.