General Santos City — Pastor Joel Apolinario, founder of KAPA Community Ministry International Inc., has been sentenced to life imprisonment after the court found him guilty of syndicated estafa in what authorities described as the largest investment scam in Philippine history.
The conviction stemmed from KAPA’s operations that lured millions of Filipinos with promises of 30 percent monthly returns for life, disguised as “donations” or “love gifts.” Many victims reportedly borrowed money, sold property, pawned valuables, and even risked retirement benefits in hopes of earning from the scheme.
In a December 2023 ruling, the Butuan City Regional Trial Court Branch 33 convicted Apolinario and his co-accused Cristobal Baradad and Joji Jusay on eight counts of syndicated estafa under the Revised Penal Code and Presidential Decree No. 1689. The court ordered each accused to pay ₱195,000 in damages to the complainants.
Regulators earlier determined that KAPA operated using a Ponzi scheme, a finding confirmed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC said funds from new “donors” were used to pay earlier participants, inevitably leading to massive losses once recruitment slowed.
Apolinario’s legal troubles did not end there. In August 2024, a Cebu court handed down an additional conviction for estafa, sentencing him to one year and one day in prison and ordering him to pay ₱500,000 in damages to a local investor.
KAPA had been on the SEC’s radar as early as 2017 due to questionable transactions. Its assets were later frozen by the Anti-Money Laundering Council, while criminal complaints were filed against the group and its executives. In June 2019, then President Rodrigo Duterte publicly ordered the shutdown of KAPA, calling it a clear case of syndicated fraud.
Authorities estimate that millions of Filipinos nationwide were affected, with investments running into tens of billions of pesos. At its peak, KAPA reportedly had thousands of members in Mindanao alone.
The court’s decision is being hailed as a strong warning against individuals and groups that exploit faith and poverty to defraud the public, underscoring the government’s resolve to crack down on large-scale financial scams that prey on ordinary citizens.