FACTS
Joaquin Celis was employed as a bookkeeper by the firm Findlay & Co., where he was in charge of the insurance department. His duties included recording insurance premium payments and delivering received checks or money to the company cashier. On or about January 4, 1906, Celis received a check for P675.36, payable to Findlay & Co. or bearer, representing an insurance premium payment. Instead of delivering the check to the cashier, Celis indorsed it with his signature and cashed it. He then used the proceeds to pay a personal debt of P350 to E.M. Bachrach and kept the remaining balance. Findlay & Co. charged Celis with the crime of estafa for appropriating the check for his own use, causing damage to the firm. The Court of First Instance of Manila found Celis guilty and imposed a penalty. Celis appealed this judgment.

ISSUE: Whether Joaquin Celis committed the crime of estafa by misapplying and appropriating for his own use a check entrusted to him in his capacity as bookkeeper for Findlay & Co.

RULING: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the lower court, finding Joaquin Celis guilty of estafa. The Court held that Celis, by appropriating and disposing of the check to his own use, defrauded Findlay & Co. and violated the trust placed in him. His actions constituted estafa under Article 535, No. 5, in conjunction with Article 534, No. 2, of the Penal Code. The Court found no extenuating or aggravating circumstances and therefore imposed a penalty within the medium degree of the offense. The appellate court modified the sentence, increasing the imprisonment to six months of arresto mayor, with the accessory penalties prescribed by Article 61 of the Penal Code, and ordered him to pay the costs. The Court also upheld the jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance, finding that the crime was committed within its territorial jurisdiction.