Money meant for families and kids has gone missing

Ofelia Hermosa, like tens of thousands of other Filipinos in Canada sends money back to her family regularly so they can have a better life.
Over the last few months, she had to send more because her mother was sick.
Scraping up what she could and maxing out her credit card, Hermosa raised about $8,000 to help her mother seek medical attention.
She used the popular “Jak En Poy” Filipino grocery store in Surrey’s Guildford neighbourhood as the remittance agent.
The money never arrived.
Today the store is closed, the couple who ran it have disappeared and like Hermosa, dozens of other Filipinos in B.C. are wondering what has happened to their money.
Many of the victims are migrant workers who send their paychecks home to support their families, Filipino media reported.
According to Balitang America the owners of Jak En Poy, Danny and Irene Ongkeko have given promissory notes to about 90 people in the Metro Vancouver area who have claimed their remittances never arrived in the Philippines.
One of them, Albert Quidalos said Danny Ongkeko assured him, would return the money. But when Quidalos went back to the agency, he discovered the store has already changed its name and now has new owners, Balitang America reported.
Quidalos and Hermosa are asking other victims to join them in filing charges against the Ongkekos, who have reportedly told some of the victims that they have gone back to the Philippines to track the agent who allegedly ran off with all the other remittances.
To make matters worse, Danny Ongkeko has also reportedly filed for bankruptcy, making the chances for any recovery slim.
His wife, Irene Ongkeko, is described by the Association of Filipino Canadian Accountants as an “accomplished entrepreneur combining service, integrity and business acumen to gain success as an immigrant to Canada.”
The organisation’s website said she is the owner manager of the popular Jak en Poy retail trade and Peragram Express International (money remittance) in Canada in addition to her continuing involvement in a commercial ink production business in the Philippines.
Ironically, Irene Ongkeko was a speaker at one of the organization’s conference which included the topic – “ warning signs of fraud – a primer for accountants.”
Surrey RCMP which has interviewed several of the victims has opened a file on the case.
In the past year, the Surrey RCMP have received complaints from members of the public who have used two separate and unrelated businesses, both located in Surrey, to transfer monies overseas, Surrey RCMP  Constable Robert Park said in a statement.
The victims claim that the recipients, all family members, have not received the money that they had sent them.
The victims went back to the businesses in an attempt to retrieve their monies, only to discover that the businesses have closed their doors.
The Surrey RCMP have interviewed numerous complainants regarding these two businesses.
Some victims claim to have lost anywhere from $800.00 to over $100,000.00.
In most cases, the money had been sent overseas to support family members. The victims had worked hard for this money, and the Surrey RCMP are pursuing an active investigation into these alleged losses, said Park.
The Surrey RCMP wants to speak to any additional victims who have not yet come forward.
If you believe that you are a victim of this type of scheme, please contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.
The Surrey RCMP Economic Crime Unit recommends that they “use either banks or reputable money transfer agents. Do not pay cash even when you are offered a better rate. Instead pay by cheques, money orders or drafts, as cash is almost impossible to trace. Remember to get a receipt and write down the name of the person who is sending the money for you.”
But the advice comes a little too late for dozens of Filipinos in B.C. who have lost their savings meant for their families.
Langley contract workers Gina Oliveros, Gino Tudtud, Giezella dela Cruz, and Chris dela Cruz sent a total of $6,100 last March through Jak en Poy.
The workers arrived in Canada just last year, and were sending money to pay off their debt in the Philippines; money they used for the placement fees to come to Canada and all other expenses, local Filipino media said.

The Surrey RCMP wants to speak to any victims of remittance fraud.
Please contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.

Filipino workers send the most money home

Filipino immigrant workers have the highest frequency of overseas remittance compared to other nationalities working in Canada.
According to Belinda Lim-Herrera, an executive of a global remittance bank, Filipino workers in Canada transmitted some $185 million to the Philippines in 2009.
She attributed this to the “Filipino culture” where immigrant workers remit their earnings to their extended family members – brothers and sisters, husbands, wives, parents and relatives in their homeland.
Lim-Herrera operates a global remittance bank with offices in Alberta, Ontario and Vancouver and has branches in 27 countries, including Greece and Italy, reported PNS.
Citing Statistics Canada, Tracy Scott, senior manager of Payment and Card Services, RBC, said in the same interview that about 23 percent of immigrants sent remittances within six to 24 months of arrival in Canada.
Twenty nine percent did so within 25 to 48 months of arrival, it was reported.
The average amount sent within six to 24 months was $2,500. After 25-48 months in Canada, the average amount sent overseas was $2,900, Statistics Canada added.
In 2009, some $316 billion was remitted by overseas workers around the world to India, China, Mexico, Philippines and other countries.
These remittances are an important source of precious foreign exchange for the major labor-exporting countries, according to a study by Charles Stahl of the University of New Castle and Fred Arnold of East-West Population Institute, East-west Center.
The top ten remittance recipients are: 1. India, 2. China, 3. Mexico, 4. Philippines, 5. France, 6.Bangladesh, 7. Spain, 8. Germany, 9. Nigeria and 10. Belgium.
A 2006 population census earlier showed that there are 410,700 Filipinos living in Canada, making them the fourth largest minority group in the country for that year.
The census showed that most of the Filipinos in Canada (141,225) are between 25 to 44 years old. The second largest age group of Pinoys living there are between 45 to 64 years old (99,690).