A number of posts on social media falsely claimed that the cases against Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder Apollo Quiboloy in the United States (U.S.) have been dismissed.
“Ibinasura na ang mga kaso ni Ptr. Quiboloy sa America. Paano na yan Risa Hontiveros (Cases against Pastor Quiboloy in America have been junked. How about that, Risa Hontiveros),” a Facebook (FB) page wrote on Oct. 11.
Meanwhile, a YouTube video published a day before bore the headline:
“KAKAPASOK LANG Cleared na! K0rte sa USA Pinawalang Sala si Quiboloy! Risa Hontiveros Nataranta? (JUST IN Cleared! US court acquits Quiboloy! Risa Hontiveros panicked?) OMG.”
This is a spin on recent news about a KOJC administrator in the U.S. having most charges against her dropped.
Quiboloy, who is in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted list, was indicted by a federal grand jury at a California district court for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling.
“Upon verifying with the US Embassy, the US prosecutor and Quiboloy co-defendant Marissa Dueñas have reached an agreement in which she pleads guilty to conspiracy to defraud the US government, and the prosecutor agrees to dismiss the other charges against her only,” Department of Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano said on Oct. 10, according to news reports.
“All the charges against all other defendants remain pending, and trial is tentatively scheduled to begin on May 20, 2025,” he added.
The erroneous claim appeared three days after Dueñas, a human resources manager for KOJC in California, entered a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Oct. 7 (U.S. time). She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud against the U.S. government, in particular by organizing sham marriages for KOJC to secure immigration status.
FB page Hakbang ng Maisug (created on May 12) posted the erroneous claim, which garnered 1,338 reactions, 363 comments, and 256 shares. Meanwhile, the video of YouTube channel PINAS NEWS HEADLINES (created on July 24, 2017), got 160,042 views.
A netizen on FB asked VERA Files Fact Check to verify the post.
