Christmas came early for the Asian-facing online gambling sector as a quartet of inept fraudsters once again found themselves in serious legal jeopardy.

On December 14, arrest warrants were issued in the Philippines for Jan Robert Gustaffson, Sylvia Bernadette Gonzales de Guzman, Maria Arleen Aldaba and Sherwin Quiambao, all of whom face multiple counts of qualified theft and criminal fraud. 

Aldaba and de Guzman posted bail ahead of arraignment and pre-trial proceedings on January 20, 2021. Quiambao remains at large while Gustaffson, a Swedish national, reportedly fled the country in February. However, a petition has been filed with the Bureau of Immigration to ensure Gustafsson’s immediate detention should he be so foolish as to attempt to return to the Philippines. 

The four fraudsters were part of a criminal group that attempted to defraud their former employer, Spectrogen Corp, a business process outsourcing firm supplying services to Philippine-based online gambling operators.