Ricardo Cepeda. Image from Instagram / @richardcepedago
Model-athlete Joshua de Sequera came to the defense of his stepfather, actor Ricardo Cepeda, who was arrested by Quezon City Police on charges of syndicated estafa, a non-bailable offense, saying that he was just tapped to become a brand ambassador for a sales company.
Cepeda, whose real name is Richard Cepeda Go, was arrested at a restaurant bar in Caloocan by operatives of the Quezon City Police District Warrant Section on the basis of the order issued by the Sanchez Mira, Cagayan Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Gemma Bucayu-Madrid, and was brought to Camp Karingal for documentation.
De Sequerra is the son of former model and actress Marina Benipayo who is the partner of Cepeda.
On Facebook, de Sequera claimed that Cepeda was “wrongfully accused,” and that he was a mere product endorser of a sales company that offered an investment scheme without his knowledge. But de Sequerra did not say which company his stepfather endorsed.
“They used the title brand ambassador — which many companies also use. The company offered an investment scheme — which he had no knowledge nor participation of — (and) which paid people a big (percentage) profit monthly. Guaranteed with advanced payouts in monthly postdated checks,” he said.
According to de Sequerra, these checks started bouncing such that investors filed estafa cases against everyone who they thought was part of the company, including Cepeda, who was a mere celebrity model for the company.
“His lawyer can easily prove his innocence by presenting a copy of DTI showing the company is a sole proprietorship and his name is not there. Also his name appears nowhere on any of the said investment MOAs and post-dated checks,” he said.
De Sequera lamented that his father may have to stay behind bars while his lawyer requests for the court to grant bail and to set a date for hearing.
“Request for bail and if ever court date is his biggest hassle because it means he’s stuck in detainment even though he’s innocent. I have seen a lot of hateful comments about this. If you don’t know what really happened, keep your comments to yourself,” he further said.
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