Ricardo Cepeda ‘shocked’ after arrest: ‘I wasn’t aware na may warrants ako’

Ricardo Cepeda. Image: Instagram/@richardcepedago

Ricardo Cepeda has maintained that he is innocent of the charges slapped against him, including syndicated estafa, and said he was taken aback after the police served him an arrest warrant during a ribbon-cutting event in Caloocan City.

“I was shocked. I wasn’t aware na umabot sa may warrants ako. I had heard na may mga scandal but hindi ko alam na sinama nila ako,” the actor, who is still in detention, said in an interview with GMA reporter Marisol Abdurahman for “24 Oras” on Tuesday, Oct. 10.

(I was shocked. I wasn’t aware that there were warrants against me. I had heard that the company has scandals but I didn’t know that they got my name involved.)

“I’m not connected at all [with] the company. Even [in the] business registration, my name is not there,” Cepeda stressed. “Wala ako sa running business and anything of the company. Model lang ako ng products.”

(I am not involved in running the business or anything in the company. I was just a model for their products.)

Aside from 43 counts of syndicated estafa, Cepeda faces complaints for violations of the Bouncing Check Law and Republic Act 8799, or the Securities and Regulation Code. The actor, however, says he is confident that he will be cleared of these charges.

“‘Yung ano ko lang is the time—the wasted time that I can’t do anything. I cannot work because I’m here trying to prove my innocence,” he lamented.

Cepeda, whose real name is Richard Cepeda Go, was arrested and jailed by Quezon City Police on Sunday, Oct. 8. The actor has remained in police custody as syndicated estafa is a non-bailable offense.

Cepeda’s family including his partner, actress Marina Benipayo, his stepson and his brother have since spoken up on the matter and stressed that the actor was “wrongfully accused.”  /ra