G.R. No. 238 : April 12, 1902
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee, vs. LEON BALLESTEROS, defendant-appellant.

FACTS:
The defendant, Leon Ballesteros, was prosecuted for nine crimes of estafa. By a judgment dated April 9, 1898, he was convicted of eight crimes of consummated estafa and one crime of frustrated estafa. For each consummated crime, the lower court sentenced him to two months and one day of arresto mayor. For the frustrated crime, he was ordered to pay a fine of 150 pesetas, with the corresponding accessories, and to return the money obtained by fraud to each injured party. In case of failure to pay the indemnification and the fine, he was to suffer subsidiary imprisonment as allowed by law. The case was elevated for consultation.

ISSUE:
Whether the penalties imposed for the multiple crimes of estafa should be applied in accordance with the limits set by Article 88 of the Penal Code regarding the maximum cumulative penalty for multiple offenses.

RULING:
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalties in accordance with Rule 2 of Article 88 of the Penal Code. For the eight consummated crimes of estafa, the maximum total penalty to be served by the defendant must not exceed three times the duration of one penalty. Since each penalty was two months and one day of arresto mayor, the maximum cumulative penalty was fixed at six months and three days of arresto mayor. For the frustrated estafa, the fine was adjusted to 325 pesetas, the minimum for a correctional penalty. The Court also ruled that no subsidiary imprisonment would be imposed in case of insolvency or failure to pay the indemnity, as the amounts defrauded from each victim did not exceed 12 ½ pesetas. Costs were assessed against the accused.