By Nancy Carvajal
Actor Luis Manzano is in hot water for allegedly enticing over 100 persons to invest nearly P1 million in Flex Fuel Corporation, a petroleum company, which turned out to be a scam.
A complaint against Manzano has been filed before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) by at least five investors. He was Flex Fuel’s chief executive officer and chairman before divesting his interests in its parent firm, the ICM Group of Companies.
Jinky Sta. Isabel, an investor and spokesperson of the complainants, said Manzano should be held liable for the scam despite his claim that he “never took part in the management of the business.”
She said Manzano cannot wash his hands off the issue because of a personal rift with his business partner, ICM chairman and CEO Ildefonso “Bong” Medel Jr.
“We don’t care if Manzano and Medel are at odds with each other. We invested our money in Flex Fuel because we trusted Manzano’s word that our money would grow,” Sta. Isabel said.
She said investors were promised a monthly income of P70,000 if they would invest P990,000 in Flex Fuel under a co-ownership deal.
Several videos and ads online featured Manzano enticing people to invest in Flex Fuel so they can be “my co-owner” of gas stations.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), however, warned in 2021 that Flex Fuel and other little known gas stations are unauthorized to offer securities to the public.
Sta. Isabel said she approached Manzano in November 2022 for help because she needed to recover her investment for a medical emergency. She said the actor deposited P150,000 in her bank account.
“I told Manzano that I would return his money if he would pay back what I invested in Flex Fuel. The help he gave cannot offset the fact that he convinced me and other people to invest in what turned out to be a scam,” she said.
Sta. Isabel said she and other Flex Fuel investors no longer expect to be paid the interest that their investment should’ve earned from Flex Fuel, but they want their money back at the very least.
