Rodolfo Vasquez v. People

Summary

Criminal case involving estafa where Vasquez fraudulently obtained P708,000.00 loan by misrepresenting a mango plantation project. Through conspiracy with co-accused, he showed the complainant a different property with mango trees while actually mortgaging his own barren property. The Supreme Court affirmed his conviction but clarified the proper penalty computation for estafa cases under the Revised Penal Code, distinguishing from bouncing check cases under PD 818. The Court emphasized that for estafa exceeding P22,000.00, the penalty should be computed using the basic penalty of prisión correccional maximum to prisión mayor minimum, with the excess amount affecting only the maximum term. This case provides important jurisprudential guidance on penalty computation for large-scale estafa cases.