Philippines' 'Anna Delvey' arrested after tricking victims to fund her fashion company
A woman has been put behind bars after allegedly scamming victims into investing millions of pesos to fund her fashion company.
Identified as 26-year-old Mikaela Veronica Cabrera, her actions are reminiscent of that of Anna Delvey, a con artist and fraudster who posed as a wealthy heiress in order to trick members of New York City's upper crust. She also inspired the Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna.
Because of this, Cabrera has been dubbed the "Philippines' Anna Delvey."
According to reports by several news outlets, Cabrera was arrested at a condominium in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig after a warrant was issued against her by Presiding Judge Clemente Mogueis Clemente from Makati Municipal Trial Court Branch 127.
This puts an end to her years of scamming clients who were mostly comprised of men that she met on various dating apps.
Her patrons would typically lend her a large amount of money for her fashion company, AUMA Fashion Styling Firm, and when it was time for her to pay them back, Cabrera would disappear without fulfilling her end of the bargain.
One of Cabrera's victims created a Facebook account dedicated to the supposed con artist, titled, "Mikaela Veronica Sese Cabrera A Scammer." The page's description claimed that she has already "victimized lots of people" and that potential clients should "not believe her words."
The page was reportedly the catalyst that brought about Cabrera's arrest after it was found by a real estate agent who also came into contact with Cabrera. This led to the other victims and the police working together to organize an entrapment operation to catch the alleged scammer.
The Instagram account of her fashion company has since been made private. Its official website is also now defunct.
Cabrera is now facing charges for the alleged violation of Batas Pambansa Blg. 22, also known as the Bouncing Checks Law.