Three officials of Dr Verma Lending Corporation have been convicted by the Pasay Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 47 for submitting falsified documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during the company’s registration process.
The individuals, namely Jelyn Orillo Borja, Uldarico Sahay, and Jessie Basarte Borja, were found guilty of violating Article 172 (1) of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes the falsification of public documents by private individuals.
The three individuals were each sentenced to up to two years and six months imprisonment and a P100,000 fine.
The SEC filed the case against Dr Verma Lending after finding irregularities in the certificate of bank deposit submitted by the company, which was purportedly issued by BDO-Pasay Two Shopping Center Branch in April 2017 as part of the registration requirements. Upon verification, the SEC found that the bank certificates were falsified, and BDO-Pasay Two Shopping Center had not issued the certificate of bank deposit submitted by Dr Verma Lending.
The SEC said it remains vigilant over the registration and operations of lending and financing companies, as part of the government’s efforts to crack down on illegal lenders engaged in usurious practices since 2016.
It has already revoked the primary registration of a total of 2,084 lending companies for non-compliance with the Lending Company Regulation Act and has also revoked the secondary license of 39 lending/financing companies due to various violations of SEC rules and regulations.
The agency is actively prosecuting 375 individuals in 56 cases for violations of Republic Act No. 8799 or the Securities Regulation Code and three cases for violations of the RPC.
