From Mayor to Scam Mastermind: How a Chinese Woman Ran a Cyberfraud Park in the Philippines

On March 13, 2024, a coordinated raid on the Baofu Park in Bamban, Tarlac Province, Philippines, exposed a shocking criminal enterprise hidden behind the facade of a legitimate industrial park. The mastermind behind the operation was none other than the sitting mayor of Bamban - a political "rising star" who claimed to be born locally. However, investigation soon revealed a stunning truth: the mayor was using a false identity. Her real name is Guo Huaping, a Chinese citizen. Guo operated under the alias Alice Guo, claiming to be born in a pig farming family in Tarlac. However, fingerprint analysis by the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation confirmed that this "local mayor" was actually a Chinese national. Records showed Guo "registered" her birth at age 17, changed her birth year around 2005, and registered as a voter in Bamban in 2021. In 2022, she won the mayoral election as an independent candidate by less than 500 votes. The Baofu Park was far from a small-time operation. Court documents from Shanghai Pudong Court revealed the park's enclosed management system: entrants were photographed, issued work badges showing their company name and entry date, and housed in dormitories within the compound. The park featured office buildings, dormitories, a supermarket, and a cafeteria, with Filipino security guards armed and on duty. Job recruitment ads typically promised "monthly salaries of 20,000-30,000 RMB, room and board included, overseas office customer service work." However, upon arrival at the park, recruits' passports were confiscated and phones were seized. Employees were required to pose as "successful overseas entrepreneurs" or "caring women" on designated social media platforms. Those who failed to meet fraud quotas were prohibited from leaving the dormitories. From January 2022 onward, 44 scam companies operated within the park, engaged in fake part-time jobs, online gambling, investment fraud, and fake cryptocurrency platforms. Their victims were spread across China and Indonesia. Two Shanghai victims, Xu and Yang, were defrauded of over 570,000 yuan through a "pig butchering" scheme where fraudsters built romantic relationships before tricking victims into fake cryptocurrency investments. The March 2024 raid rescued 678 trapped individuals, including 218 Chinese nationals. In June 2025, a Manila court issued an arrest warrant and issued a 67-page judgment confirming that Alice Guo and Guo Huaping were the same person, with a falsified Philippine birth certificate. In October 2025, Guo was sentenced to life imprisonment and had all Baofu Park buildings confiscated. This case serves as a stark warning: overseas high-salary recruitment often conceals traps. Legitimate overseas jobs never require passport confiscation, phone seizure, or physical confinement. Before accepting such offers, verify the employer's credentials. If trapped in such facilities, preserve evidence, memorize surroundings, and seek opportunities to communicate with the outside world.