Businessman and Philanthropist Francis Leo Marcos have been caught by the members of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday.
In the news report by ABS-CBN, it shows Marcos already in the NBI Central office for allegedly violating Republic Act 8050, also known as the Optometry Law.
The case might be related to the optical missions allegedly led by Francis Leo Marcos in the past.
Exclusive Breaking: NBI arrests businessman Francis Leo Marcos. pic.twitter.com/K1A808NA1y
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According to the journalist Manuel P. Mejorada, Marcos allegedly uses charities to raise funds but in the end, the latter is going to use the money he gathered in gambling.
“What FLM is doing is different. It’s not an investment. It capitalizes on our weakness to be helpful through charity. His past schemes have mostly dealt with fake charity work. His modus operandi was raise funds through donations for optical missions in which his organization gives free eyeglasses to indigent recipients. This is the main reason he adopted the Marcos family name. It attaches a sense of credibility to his scheme. And who would suspect that the giving of eyeglasses is a scam?” Mejorada said.
“I found out that he would usually approach rich people and ask for donations. Quite a number have fallen prey to his scheme and gave substantial amounts of money. After all, he is a “Marcos”. And he is supposed to be a billionaire. However, only a small portion of the money he got from donors actually goes to free eyeglasses. He squandered the rest on his lavish lifestyle and gambling,” he added.
Francis Leo Marcos suddenly has gone viral on social media because of his ‘Payaman Challenge’ where he challenged the rich people to go out of their houses to help the needy in the middle of the pandemic.
He even roamed around a posh subdivision while riding a luxury car to call his ‘neighbors’ to do philanthropic works.
His videos in the past even reached 100,000 live viewers and some of them urged him to enter politics.
However, Francis Leo Marcos’ real identity became suspicious when a member of the Romualdez clan and even the son of former Senator Bongbong Marcos disowned the businessman.
READ MORE: “Hindi ko siya Tito!” BBM’s son Sandro Marcos confirms that Francis Leo Marcos is not their relative
Francis Leo then admitted that he’s not related to the Marcoses, despite claiming before that he’s the son of Pacifico Marcos is the youngest brother of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.
READ MORE: Businessman Francis Leo Marcos reveals his relationship with the powerful Marcos clan of Ilocos
A known scammer and internet celebrity Xian Gaza also claimed that Marcos’ real name is Norman Mangusin and only falsified his identity to escape previous lawsuits.
NBI already hinted before that they’re investigating Francis Leo Marcos.
READ MORE: NBI to investigate alleged scammer who distributes rice to lure rich people in his foundation