A caregiving job offer that promised six-figure monthly salaries turned into a legal battle after two Filipinas said they lost P120,000 each to what they now describe as a fraudulent recruitment operation, according to a report by Inquirer.net.
The complainants filed charges of large-scale illegal recruitment and estafa before the DOJ-Office of the City Prosecutor of Santo Tomas City, Batangas, against four Italian nationals — identified as Adel En Nouri, Mohammed En Nouri, Yuness En Nouri, and Narwani Ricky Ravin — along with four Filipino individuals whose names the publication withheld pending their response to the allegations.
The two women said they were introduced to the Filipino respondents through a mutual acquaintance at a gathering in Santo Tomas City last year. The Filipinos presented themselves as recruiters for Tamber International Placement Agency and described openings for healthcare assistants and caregivers in either Canada or the United Arab Emirates, with monthly salaries ranging from P120,000 to P140,000.
Video calls with the Italian nationals were arranged to bolster the offer’s credibility. “During the said video calls, they assured us that job openings in Canada or the United Arab Emirates were available and that Filipino applicants were being prioritized,” the complaint-affidavit stated.
The recruiters pressed for quick payment, telling the victims that slots were scarce. “Respondents emphasized that slots were limited and that immediate payment was necessary to secure our application. They assured us that the amount was refundable in case the employment would not push through,” the document read.
Each woman paid P120,000 — equivalent to one month’s promised salary — as a processing fee, with deployment expected within two months. That deadline passed without result. Repeated follow-ups were met with shifting explanations, and contact with the respondents grew increasingly difficult. “When we attempted to personally verify their operations and demand updates, respondents became evasive and difficult to contact,” the victims said.
A check on the agency’s legitimacy revealed the respondents held no license to recruit or place workers for overseas employment. “It became clear to us that respondents had no legal authority to recruit workers and that their representations were false from the beginning,” the complainants said. The whereabouts of the four Italian nationals are currently unknown.
