Whether petitioner is guilty of estafa under Article 315(1)(b) of the Revised Penal Code for allegedly misappropriating P265,900.00 received in trust
Summary
The Supreme Court affirmed Gina Diaz's conviction for estafa under Article 315(1)(b) of the Revised Penal Code but modified her sentence. Diaz received P265,900.00 from Erwina Sanuele-Orallo under a trust arrangement for money-lending business, with obligation to return upon demand. When Sanuele-Orallo demanded repayment, Diaz failed to return the money. The Court distinguished this from a simple loan, finding it was a trust relationship where Diaz had juridical possession to lend money to others but with corresponding obligation to return the principal amount. All elements of estafa with abuse of confidence were proven: receipt in trust, misappropriation evidenced by failure to account upon demand, prejudice to complainant, and demand made. The Court corrected the minimum term of the indeterminate sentence from 6 years to 4 years and 2 months of prision correccional, while maintaining the maximum of 20 years reclusion temporal, and upheld the order to pay P265,900.00 actual damages.
Focus of dispute
Whether petitioner is guilty of estafa under Article 315(1)(b) of the Revised Penal Code for allegedly misappropriating P265,900.00 received in trust
Legal facts
On May 13, 2002, Gina Diaz received P265,900.00 from Erwina Sanuele-Orallo under a notarized 'Certification' stating money was received 'in trust' to be returned anytime upon demand. The money was intended for Diaz's money-lending business where she would lend to other people and collect payments. On May 30, 2002, Sanuele-Orallo demanded return of the money but Diaz failed to pay. Diaz claimed she had already made payments through various borrowers, but prosecution argued these payments were for previous transactions, not the P265,900.00 amount.
Judgement and reasoning
{"Court of Appeals (CA)": "Affirmed the RTC decision in toto in Decision dated September 29, 2005. Denied petitioner's Motion for Reconsideration in Resolution dated January 10, 2006. Found no error in the trial court's finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt.", "Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pasay City, Branch 117": "Found Gina Diaz guilty beyond reasonable doubt of estafa under Article 315(1)(b) of the Revised Penal Code. Sentenced her to indeterminate penalty of 6 years prision correccional (minimum) to 20 years reclusion temporal (maximum) and ordered to pay P265,900.00 as actual damages. Court found all elements of estafa with abuse of confidence were proven: money received in trust, misappropriation, prejudice to complainant, and demand made.", "Supreme Court (SC)": "Affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. Held that transaction was not a simple loan but a trust relationship where money was to be lent to other people. All elements of estafa with abuse of confidence proven: (1) money received in trust with obligation to return, (2) misappropriation or conversion, (3) prejudice to complainant, (4) demand made. However, corrected the minimum term of indeterminate sentence from 6 years to 4 years and 2 months of prision correccional, as the minimum should be within 6 months and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months under the Indeterminate Sentence Law."}