TWO executives of a Cebu-based business process outsourcing (BPO) company have been arrested along with a United States-based officer for allegations of defrauding elderly authors in the US of almost $44 million or more than P2.5 billion.

The information was posted in a press release published by the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of California on its website last January 15, 2025.

Michael Cris Traya Sordilla and Bryan Navales Tarosa were arrested in San Diego, California last December 9, 2024. Sordilla is the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Innocentrix Philippines. Tarosa is the Vice President of Operations, according to the indictment papers. The two are in a relationship.

Gemma Traya Austin, who was identified by the press release as the organizer and listed agent of PageTurner, Press and Media LLC, was arrested in Chula Vista, California last December 12, 2024.

All three are listed as “in custody.”

The charges against the three include conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, which carries maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, which carries maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the amount laundered, according to the press release.

The three are accused of approaching authors and telling them that studios were interested in turning their works into movies or TV series, but only if they pay PageTurner first.

“The indictment alleges that between September 2017 and December 2024, the defendants used PageTurner to operate a book publishing scam in which the conspirators working for Innocentrix Philippines contacted individual authors through unsolicited calls and emails,” the press release said.

“As part of the scam, the conspirators falsely represented that PageTurner was a book publishing business that worked with literary agents, major motion picture studios, and popular video streaming services, and that PageTurner acted as a liaison between individuals who sought to publish their books or have their books turned into motion pictures or television series.”

“As part of the conspiracy, the scammers falsely told victims their works had been selected for acquisition by publishers or movie studios, and fraudulently convinced victims to send PageTurner payments for various services, including pre-payment of taxes and transaction fees, before the victim-author’s work could be published or optioned to studios,” the statement by the US Attorney’s Office said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) “identified more than 800 victims of the scheme who collectively lost more than $44 million.”

“What started with the promise of a Hollywood dream turned into a devastating nightmare for victims,” US Attorney Tara McGrath said in the statement.

The case is being investigated by both the FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

I sent an email to the listed address on the Innocentrix Philippines website but did not get a response as of the writing of this story. A call to the listed phone number was answered by someone who identified himself as tech support working from home on their pageant vote tabulation software.

Sordilla is prominent in the beauty pageant industry as a judge and the chairman of Hiyas ng Pilipinas pageant. Among the businesses that he listed in his Facebook posts and on his page at the Innocentrix Philippines website are MCS Group of Companies, MSordilla Builders, MCS Studio, and Serene Oasis Resort in Oslob, southern Cebu.

(Are you part of Innocentrix Philippines? Do you have information about the case? Please drop me an email. I can keep you anonymous if you want to contact me but are not comfortable sharing your identity with the public. You can send an email to [email protected] or contact me via Signal)