The Baguio City Prosecutor's Office in the Philippines has filed a lawsuit charging a group of suspects with syndicated fraud for allegedly participating in an elaborate scam.

It was reported that the alleged leader of Horizon Players Club, Hector Pantollana, and 15 others, including the group’s leader in Baguio and Cordillera regions, Hazen Humilde , will face trial. Previously, about 10,000 investors were accused of financing fraud involving at least 4 billion pesos.

The charges against Pantolana and his associates surfaced last year when investors filed numerous financial fraud complaints with the National Bureau of Investigation of the Cordillera Administrative Region (NBI-CAR). The casino junket financing scheme allegedly promised investors a monthly return on their investment.

Pantolana, his brother Hubert Amiel, the Humilde brothers, Mikaela Damasco Ty-Choi, Virginio Martin Casupanan and other key figures are accused of deceiving investors with promises of huge returns, allegedly as high as 5% per month. However, these promises were allegedly not fulfilled, triggering a series of complaints and subsequent legal action.

Despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issuing cease-and-desist orders (CDOs) against Pantolana and Hummeld's operations, reports indicate that illegal activity continues. The activities are said to have squandered 17 billion pesos ($301 million) worth of investments across the country, including funds from the Filipino diaspora.

Pantolana and its legal representatives have strongly denied the allegations, insisting there was insufficient evidence of any wrongdoing and claiming investors were fully aware of the nature of their investments. Likewise, Hummeld and his associates issued statements denying the accusations, claiming they were baseless and unsupported by concrete evidence.