G.R. No. 1942, February 1, 1905
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee, vs. LOPE DEDICATORIA, defendant-appellant.

FACTS:
The defendant, Lope Dedicatoria, falsely pretended to be an attorney named Jose Batallones, a member of a family with whom the priest Don Juan de la Rosa was intimately acquainted. Through these false pretenses, the defendant gained entry into the priest’s house, lived there for several days, and won his confidence. By abusing this fraudulently obtained confidence, the defendant succeeded in borrowing various sums of money from the priest on multiple occasions, which he failed to repay. He also induced the priest to entrust him with 60 pesos to be delivered to another priest, Juan Baliwag, which he likewise failed to deliver. The total amount involved was 215 pesos.

ISSUE:
Whether the acts committed by the defendant constitute the crime of estafa (swindling).

RULING:
Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the lower court, finding the defendant guilty of estafa as defined and penalized under subsections 1 and 5 of Article 535 of the Penal Code. The penalty was imposed under Article 534, subsection 2, as the amount embezzled (215 pesos) was more than 250 pesetas but less than 6,250 pesetas. The prescribed penalty is arresto mayor in its medium degree to presidio correccional in its minimum degree. The Court held that no aggravating or extenuating circumstances were present, noting that the commission of the crime in the victim’s house was inherent to its execution and not a separate aggravating circumstance. Applying the penalty in its medium degree, the defendant was sentenced to six months of arresto mayor. The decision was affirmed with costs against the appellant.