
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Two executives of a Cebu-based business process outsourcing (BPO) company have been arrested, along with their United States-based associate, for allegedly defrauding elderly authors in the US of nearly $44 million, or more than P2.5 billion.
The information was posted in a press release published by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California on its website on January 15, 2025.
Michael Cris Traya Sordilla and Bryan Navales Tarosa were arrested in San Diego, California, on December 9, 2024. Sordilla is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of Innocentrix Philippines, while Tarosa is the vice president of operations, according to the indictment papers. The two are in a relationship.
Sordilla is prominent in the beauty pageant industry as a judge and the chairman of the Hiyas ng Pilipinas pageant. Among the businesses he listed in his Facebook posts and on the Innocentrix Philippines website are MCS Group of Companies, MSordilla Builders, MCS Studio, and Serene Oasis Resort in Oslob, southern Cebu.
Gemma Traya Austin, identified as the organizer and listed agent of PageTurner, Press and Media LLC, was arrested in Chula Vista, California, on December 12, 2024.
All three are listed as “in custody.”
The charges against them include conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, which carries maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a $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 claiming that studios were interested in adapting their works into movies or TV series – provided they paid 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 allegedly misled victims into thinking that their works had been selected for acquisition by publishers or movie studios, and allegedly told them 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, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified more than 800 victims of the scheme, who collectively lost over $44 million.
“What started with the promise of a Hollywood dream turned into a devastating nightmare for victims,” read a statement made by US Attorney Tara McGrath.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Rappler sent an email to the listed address on the Innocentrix Philippines website but did not receive a response as of this posting. 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. We will update this report once the firm or its representatives issues a statement. – Rappler.com