The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said on Sunday that the authorities arrested actor Ricardo Cepeda at a restobar on Mabini St. in Maypajo, Caloocan City, on Saturday, Oct. 7, for syndicated estafa.

A warrant of arrest was served by the Regional Trial Court Branch 12 on Cepeda and he was immediately notified to the QCPD headquarters in Camp Karingal for documentation.

Apart from the actor, other people who were supposedly complicit in the crime were also subjected to a manhunt.

Syndicated estafa is a non-bailable offense under Article 315(2)(a) of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Presidential Decree No. 1689, carrying the maximum penalty of life imprisonment once proven beyond reasonable doubt that “the swindling (estafa) is committed by a syndicate consisting of five or more persons formed with the intention of carrying out the unlawful or illegal act, transaction, enterprise, or scheme.”