Marbella housing fraud scammers arrested across southern Spain

THE national police have broken up a Malaga housing scam that conned a Marbella businessman out of €95,000.

The Marbella-based group of seven, who were arrested across Marbella, Malaga and Torrevieja, ran a complex scam pretending to be intermediaries for property sales.

They gained the trust of their client, as well as a Puerto Banus-based woman who was on the brink of paying them €100,000, by meeting them in luxury hotels, sending an architect over to the appraisal and showing them photos of the supposed Italian purchaser.

Using false identities and cars with fake licence plates, the conmen would ask for their commission in small bills, and then make the supposed house payments in fake bills.

The victim of the scam, who reported to the fraud, has recovered €28,000 from the crooks.