In a significant crackdown on international fraud, Quezon City police arrested two Liberian nationals involved in a notorious ‘black dollar scam’. The arrests took place in a motel in Barangay Kamuning on January 31, 2025, around 5:20 p.m. The suspects, identified by the aliases Gorge and Johnson, are believed to be part of the Black Dollar African Criminal Gang, which has been operating across Metro Manila and its surrounding areas.
The scam involves deceiving victims into purchasing chemicals supposedly required to transform counterfeit currency into genuine US dollars. The operation that led to their arrest was initiated following a complaint from an entrepreneur named Susana, who was defrauded of PHP1.8 million by the suspects for these so-called conversion chemicals.
During the raid, authorities seized a variety of items including a single genuine PHP1,000 bill, 20 counterfeit US dollar bills, a luggage bag, a vault filled with cotton and chemical powders, green paper cut to the size of banknotes, several identification cards, and three mobile phones.
The arrested individuals now face charges under the Revised Penal Code for swindling (Article 315), illegal possession and use of false treasury or bank notes (Article 168), and forging treasury or bank notes (Article 166).