A Survey on Philippine Jurisprudence on EstafaAdvance EnglishLLB1- Section B

Submitted by:Jan Veah P. CaabaySubmitted to: Judge Noferio Nono

INTRODUCTION

A. Define Estafa

- Estafa is a criminal offense wherein a person defrauds another by the following means:

1) By UNFAITHFULNESS or ABUSE OF CONFIDENCE;2) By DECEIT;3) By FRAUDULENT MEANS.

Estafa is committed by a person who defrauds another causing him to suffer damage, by means of unfaithfulness or abuse of confidence, or of false pretense or fraudulent acts.

DISCUSSION

1.) Explain “Estafa through unfaithfulness or abuse of confidence.”

Estafa through unfaithfulness or abuse of confidence is done by:a. Altering quality, quantity and substance of subject matter of contract;b. Misappropriating or converting goods/property of another;c. Taking advantage of a signature in blank

i. The elements of Estafa under Article 315, 1(a) of the Revised Penal Code,a. That the offender has an onerous obligation to deliver something of value;b. That he alters its substance, quantity or quality;c. That damage or prejudice capable of pecuniary estimation is caused to the

offended party or third persons;

2.) Explain “Estafa through deceit or fraudulent acts.”

Estafa through deceit or fraudulent acts executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud is done by:

a. Using fictitious name as means of deceit;b. Altering quality, fineness or weight of anything pertaining to art or business;c. By issuing unfunded checks or postdated checks;d. Availing of services of hotel, inn, restaurants etc. without paying therefor.

i. The elements of Estafa under Article 315, 1(b) of the Revised Penal Code:

a. That money, goods or other personal property is received by the offender in trust, or on commission or for administration, or under any other obligation involving the duty to make delivery of or to return the same;

b. That there be misappropriation or conversion of such money or property by the offender or denial on his part of such receipt; and

c. That such misappropriation or conversion or denial is to the prejudice of another;d. That there is demand by the offended party to the offender.

(Asejo v. People, G.R. No. 157433, July 24, 2007)

The second element establishes three ways in which estafa may be committed under this category:

Misappropriation of the thing received – the act of taking something for one’s own benefit;

Conversion of the thing received – the act of using or disposing of another’s property as it was one’s own;

Denial of the receipt of the thing received.

ii. “Misappropriation” or “conversion”.

The words "convert" and "misappropriate" as used in the aforequoted Article 315, connote an act of using or disposing of another’s property as if it were one’s own or of devoting it to a purpose or use different from that agreed upon. To "misappropriate" a thing of value for one’s own use or benefit, not only the conversion to one’s personal advantage but also every attempt to dispose of the property of another without a right. (Sy v. People, G.R. No. 85785, 24 April 1989)

It is well-settled that the essence of estafa thru misappropriation is the appropriation or conversion of money or property received to the prejudice of the owner (U.S. vs. Ramirez, G.R. No. 3796, October 17, 1907).

Misappropriation or conversion may be proved by the prosecution by direct evidence or by circumstantial evidence. (Lee v. People, G.R.No. 157781, 11 April 2005)

Failure to account upon demand, for funds or property held in trust, is circumstantial evidence of misappropriation. (People v. Sullano, G.R. No. L-18209, 30 June 1966)

ii. Denial of the receipt of the thing received.

It means that a person who has possession of a thing, does not return or denies receiving the thing to the owner.

There are two kinds of possession:a. Material Possession – The actual physical possession of personal property,

where the possessor cannot claim a better right to such a property than that of its owner.

b. Juridical Possession – It is present when the possession of the personal property arises from a lawful causation, contract or agreement, express or implied, written or unwritten or by virtue of a provision of law.

When the money, goods, or any other personal property is received by the offender from the offended party (1) in trust or (2) on commission or (3) for administration, the offender acquires both material or physical possession and juridical possession of the thing received. (Santos v. People, G.R. No. 77429, January 29, 1990)

Juridical possession means a possession which gives the transferee a right over the thing which the transferee may set up even against the owner.

iii. The elements of Estafa by taking undue advantage of the signature in blank,

under Article 315, par. 1(c) of the Revised Penal Code.

The elements of Estafa by taking undue advantage of the signature in blank are:a. That the paper with the signature of the offended party be in blank;b. That the offended party should have delivered it to the offender;c. That above the signature of the offended party a document is written by the

offender without authority to do so;d. That the document so written creates a liability of, or causes damage to the

offended party or any third person.

3.) Explain “Estafa through fraudulent means.”

Estafa through fraudulent means is done by:a. Inducing another, by means of deceit, to sign any document;b. Resorting to some fraudulent practice to ensure success in a gambling game;c. Removing, concealing, or destroying, in whole or in part, any record, office files,

document and other papers.

i. The elements of Estafa by means of deceit, under Article 315, par. 2 of the Revised Penal Code.

The elements of Estafa by means of deceit are as follows:a. That there must be false pretenses, fraudulent act or fraudulent means;

b. That such pretenses, fraudulent act or fraudulent means must be made or executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud;

c. That the offended party must have relied on the false pretense, fraudulent act or fraudulent means, that is, he was induced to part with his money or property because of false pretense, fraudulent act, or fraudulent means;

d. That as a result thereof, the offended party suffered damage.

ii. Acts that constitute a deceitful act.

As a general rule, in order to constitute deceit, there must be a false representation as a matter of fact, a positive assertion of falsehood. (People vs. Manahan, CA- G.R. No. 19602-R, 20 May 1958)

It might also consist in a fraudulent misrepresentation or contrivance by which one man deceives another who has no means of detecting the fraud to the injury of another. (People vs. Babel, 10 CAR 133)

There is no deceit if the complainant was aware if the fictitious nature of the pretense.

iii. Estafa by means of deceit committed:

Estafa by means of deceit are committed in the following ways:a. Art. 315, 2 (a)

i) By using a fictitious name.ii) By falsely pretending to possess

i. Powerii. Influenceiii. Qualificationsiv. Propertyv. Creditvi. Agencyvii. Business or imaginary transactions

iii) By means of other similar deceitb. Art. 315, 2 (b) – By altering the quality, fineness or weight of anything pertaining

to his business.c. Art. 315, 2 (c) – By pretending to have bribed any government employeed. Art. 315, 2 (d)

i) That the offender post-dated a check or issued a check in payment of an obligation;

ii) That such postdating or issuing a check was done when the offender had no funds in the bank or his funds deposited therein were not sufficient to cover the amount of the check.

e. Art 315, 2 (e)i) By obtaining food, refreshment or accommodation at hotel, inn,

restaurant, boarding house, lodging house or apartment house without paying thereof, with intent to defraud the proprietor or manager thereof;

ii) By obtaining credit at any of the said establishments by the use of any false pretense;

iii) By abandoning or surreptitiously removing any part of his baggage from any of the said establishment after obtaining credit, food, refreshment or accommodation therein, without paying thereof.

B. The indispensable elements of estafa.

Estafa has two indispensable basic elements:(a) Fraud; and(b) Resulting damage or intent to cause damage capable of pecuniary estimation.

a.) Define Fraud

Fraud, in its general sense, is deemed to comprise anything calculated to deceive, including all acts, omissions and concealment involving a breach of legal or equitable duty, trust or confidence justly reposed, resulting in damage to another, or by which an undue and unconscientious advantage is taken of another. It is a generic term embracing all multifarious means which human ingenuity can device, and which are resorted to by one individual to secure an advantage over another by false suggestions or by suppression of truth and includes all surprise, trick, cunning, dissembling and any unfair way by which another is cheated. And deceit is the false representation of a matter of fact whether by words or conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of that which should have been disclosed which deceives or is intended to deceive another so he shall act upon it to his legal injury. The false pretense or fraudulent act must be committed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud. (Alcantara v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 147259, November 24, 2003)

Deceit is a species of fraud. (Garcia v. People, G.R. No. 144785, 11 September 1985)

b.) “Intent to defraud” a necessary element of estafa.

Intent to defraud is not necessary in all types of estafa.

It is true that it is sometimes said that "deception with intent to defraud" is an essential requisite of the crime of estafa, but while this is true as to estafas in general, it is not true of those estafas mentioned in the article under consideration, except in so far the abuse of confidence in misappropriating the funds or property after they have come to the hands of the offender may be said to be a fraud upon the person injured thereby. (United States v. Pascual, G.R. No. L-4265, 26 March 1908)

i. The kind of damage or intent to cause damage is required in Estafa.

Damage or prejudice may consist of:a. The offended party being deprived of his money or property as a result of the

defraudation;b. Disturbance of property rights;c. Temporary prejudice.

(Nagrampa v. People, G.R. No. 146211, August 6, 2002)C. Other ways that estafa can be done.

Estafa can be done in the following ways also:a) By inducing another to sign any document

The elements are:i) That the offender induced the offended party to sign a document;ii) That deceit be employed to make him sign the document;iii) That the offended party personally signed the document;iv) That prejudice be caused.

b) By resorting to some fraudulent practice to insure success in gamblingc) By removing, concealing or destroying documentThe elements are:

i) That there be court record, office files, documents or any other papers;ii) That the offender removed, concealed or destroyed any of them;iii) That the offender had intent to defraud another.