Ryan Soriano Does Not Return Stolen Macbook Pro, Betrays Trust
By Rico, 9:09 am Fri Apr 3 2009 - Editorial - 4 Opinions
A couple of weeks ago, Marc Macalua saw someone selling his stolen Macbook Pro on PhilMUG and various for-sale sites. After pointing this out to the poster, user djwoblely, who was identified as Ryan Soriano, a meeting to retrieve the laptop was arranged. Unfortunately, Mr. Soriano was a no-show for the March 24 meeting.
djwoblely and his lawyer were no shows today.
I tried calling djwoblely’s number at least 5 times, it was ringing, but he wasn’t picking up all 5 times. I tried calling his lawyer’s number at least 5 times and it couldn’t be reached all 5 times.
Based on our first conversation (archived here: i’ll repost it on mediafire), djwoblely seemed cooperative but his actions today do not reflect that. I’m now exploring all legal means to retrieve the stolen property. Timing is of the utmost importance since based on djwoblely’s Sulit profile, it looks like he’s leaving the Philippines soon.
Btw, here’s the last email I received from djwoblely. What I don’t appreciate is the fact that during the entire week I was the only one exerting the effort to retrieve the item. Ako pa yung nagkakandarapa tawagan yung lawyer and djwoblely (to no avail), when it should have been the other way around.
——-Original Message——-
From: dj woblely
Subject: RE: ATTN Ryan Soriano / djwoblely
Sent: 23 Mar ‘09 12:33
Marc,
Could you have your lawyer contact mine regarding this.
RyanFrom: marc@macalua.com
To: djwoblely@hotmail.com
Subject: ATTN Ryan Soriano / djwoblely
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:34:45 +0800Dear Mr. Ryan Soriano,
It is our understanding that you are in possession of this stolen item (15-inch MacBook Pro, Part No. MA896LL/A, Serial No. W874623VX92) and at one point in time, you were selling the same on various buy and sell websites, namely Sulit.com.ph and Philmug.ph:
Doing so constitutes a violation of the anti-fencing provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1612 (Anti-Fencing Law of 1979) specifically 1612(1)(a):
“Fencing” is the act of any person who, with intent to gain for himself or for another, shall buy, receive, possess, keep, acquire, conceal, sell or dispose of, or shall buy and sell, or in any other manner deal in any article, item, object or anything of value which he knows, or should be known to him, to have been derived from the proceeds of the crime of robbery or theft.
In view of the foregoing apparent anti-fencing violations, we demand that you immediately:
1) return the following stolen laptop in your possession to Marc Hil Macalua, its rightful legal owner.
2) remove/delete all commercial listings related to the attempted selling of the stolen laptop published by you.
Failure to do so will subject you to criminal liability.
Please confirm to the undersigned in writing no later than noon March 24, 2009 that you have complied with these demands. You may reach the undersigned by telephone at 09178203331 or by email at marc@macalua.com.
For the meeting on March 24, 2009, venue is Chowking Oranbo/Shaw Blvd (near Kapitolyo), from 10:00 to 10:30 AM only. We have attached a copy of the original invoice and packing slip from CDW Direct, LLC (www.cdw.com) for your reference. We will also present the original MBP box with serial number as proof of ownership during the meeting.
Marc Hil Macalua
Discussion on PhilMUG has covered the “mere possession” clause of the anti-fencing law ad nauseam:
(a) “Fencing” is the act of any person who, with intent to gain for himself or for another, shall buy, receive, possess, keep, acquire, conceal, sell or dispose of, or shall buy and sell, or in any other manner deal in any article, item, object or anything of value which he knows, or should be known to him, to have been derived from the proceeds of the crime of robbery or theft. [emphasis mine]
I can only guess as to why Ryan decided not to immediately return the stolen laptop (if at all) to Marc. Perhaps he decided to lawyer up to protect himself? Most troubling is circumstantial evidence that Mr. Soriano will leave the country soon. Granted, Mr. Soriano claimed that he paid P70,000 to buy and upgrade the stolen Macbook Pro. But he should’ve practiced due diligence, and made sure he wasn’t buying hot goods.
In any case, Mr. Macalua (a friend of mine) revealed that he was planning to actually entrap Ryan Soriano, by pretending to the buy the laptop and ambush Ryan with a police contingent during the sale meet-up. But Marc had a change of mind, thinking that such a plan would’ve placed Ryan Soriano in needless trouble. So he decided to keep the whole affair free of the police and the courts.
And what did he get for his willingness to keep Ryan’s life uncomplicated? A no-show, and the prospect of never seeing the stolen laptop ever again. So, Mr. Soriano, I congratulate you. From all appearances, it’s people like you who make it clear that the thoughtful consideration of others is a naïve (if not dangerous) way to do things in today’s world. You’ve made it harder for people to trust.
marklam
3:03 pm Fri Apr 3 2009
RYAN SORIANO / djwoblely is a thief no doubt about it!
hoop that karma will get him soon!
Lito Magbanua
7:07 pm Fri Apr 3 2009
I was watching that thread and have come to the conclusion, like everyone who has read the entire thread, that this Ryan Soriano is just as much of a crook as the person who sold him the laptop.
Joshua Tan
7:07 pm Fri Apr 3 2009
I’m sorry. But that Ryan Soriano, aka DJwobely, is an ass and a thief. His lawyer should be disbarred.
Alex Ang
11:11 pm Fri Oct 9 2009
I heard that the crook, ryan soriano comes from a well to do family with a textile business. I also heard that he’s really into stolen laptops and illegal gambling. im worried that he might hunt down Marc Macalua for writing this.