G.R. No. L-2273

FACTS:
On June 11, 1904, defendant-appellant Francis J. Berry, an attorney, and his interpreter Paul G. Carriere visited the public jail in Tayabas. There, they induced prisoner Cornelio Finohermoso to sign a document, fraudulently representing it to be a mere mortgage on his land to secure a ₱100 legal fee. In reality, the document was an absolute deed of sale conveying Finohermoso’s land, valued at over ₱3,000, to Berry for a stated price of ₱1,000. Berry later procured the document’s inscription in the Registry of Property. The provincial fiscal filed an information charging Berry and Carriere with estafa. After a separate trial for Berry, the Court of First Instance convicted him of frustrated estafa.

ISSUE:
Whether the defendant-appellant, Francis J. Berry, is guilty of the crime of consummated estafa.

RULING:
Yes. The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s judgment and found the defendant guilty of consummated estafa under paragraph 7, Article 535 of the Penal Code. The essential elements of estafa(1) deceit employed to defraud another, and (2) injury or damage caused therebywere both present. Deceit was proven as Finohermoso was made to believe he was signing a mortgage, not a sale. Injury was manifest as Finohermoso was fraudulently deprived of his property worth over ₱3,000 for a ₱100 service. Berry’s direct participation was established by circumstantial evidence: he was present during the transaction, his agent Carriere acted pursuant to their mutual understanding, and Berry subsequently registered the deed. The penalty was fixed at four months and one day of arresto mayor in its medium degree, with corresponding accessories. The fraudulent deed was declared null and void.