G.R. No. 90017-18 March 1, 1994
People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Elena Verano y Abanes, accused-appellant.

FACTS

Accused-appellant Elena Verano y Abanes was convicted of Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale and Estafa. In October 1987, she persuaded three private complainants, Jose Daep, Arturo Espiel, and Alfonso Abanes, to accept overseas employment as salesmen in Bahrain. She required them to pay amounts for processing travel papers, plane tickets, medical exams, and recruitment fees. Jose Daep paid P15,000.00, Arturo Espiel paid P10,000.00, and Alfonso Abanes paid P7,150.00, with accused-appellant issuing receipts. To further convince them, she signed a contract of employment with Arturo Espiel. She promised their departure on December 27, 1987, but failed to meet them at the airport. She again promised departure dates of January 15, 1988, and February 13, 1988, but failed to appear each time. The complainants lodged a complaint, leading to her arrest and trial. The trial court found her guilty and sentenced her to life imprisonment and a fine for illegal recruitment, and an indeterminate prison sentence for estafa, plus payment of damages to the complainants.

ISSUE

The primary issue raised on appeal was whether the trial court erred in its factual findings that accused-appellant engaged in illegal recruitment and estafa, given her contention that she merely introduced the complainants to another person and did not profit from the transactions.

RULING

The Supreme Court AFFIRMED the trial court’s decision in toto. The Court held that the findings of fact by the trial court are final and conclusive and cannot be reviewed on appeal, as the Court is not a trier of facts. The issues raised by the appellant were purely factual, and none of the recognized exceptions to the rule on the conclusiveness of factual findings applied. Therefore, the judgment of conviction for Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale and Estafa was upheld.