The Surabaya District Court has once again tried an investment fraud case involving a repeat offender named Jeremy Gunadi. The defendant allegedly committed fraud related to the management of business capital for vehicle Ownership Transfer Fees (BBN), causing a total loss of IDR 18 billion suffered by an investor named Melinda Iston.
In her indictment, Public Prosecutor Ni Putu Parwati detailed the defendant's modus operandi, who claimed to be the owner of CV Anugerah Prima Abadi. Jeremy promised instant returns with capital turnover in just four working days. To convince the victim, the defendant used fake invoice documents and a bank check worth IDR 16 billion as investment collateral.
The prosecutor's investigation revealed that the list of 16 major companies claimed to be the defendant's business partners was fictitious. These companies had no cooperation with the defendant regarding the processing of vehicle registration certificates (STNK) or vehicle ownership logbooks (BPKB), resulting in massive material losses for the victim from the time the agreement was made in 2020 until 2022.
Responding to the indictment, the defendant's legal defense team, Hendra Kurniawan, strongly denied the prosecutor's allegations. Jeremy's side claimed that a portion of the funds amounting to IDR 8 billion had been returned to the victim. Furthermore, the defense argued that this case should be categorized as a civil dispute, not a criminal one, given the defendant's good faith in settling financial obligations personally.
The trial, held in Sari 3 Room at the Surabaya District Court, also highlighted the validity of the witnesses presented by the public prosecutor. The defendant's legal counsel stated that this dispute arose due to a decline in business financial performance, which they believe should be resolved through financial audit mechanisms and mediation, rather than legal proceedings leading to criminal charges.
