Laurence Dollimore
A BRITISH family has been arrested in Alicante over an alleged care home scam spanning over three years.
They were picked up by police while they were attempting to sell properties that were owned by a resident who had died at their Santa Pola care home.
Police, acting on a tip-off, arrested the couple who own the home, both aged 59, as well as their 25-year-old daughter, who is believed to have been a leading participant in the scam.
It is alleged she persuaded elderly clients at the pharmacy where she worked to move into her parents care home.
A police spokesperson said: “She would show interest in them and establish an emotional tie with them. She would get information of how they lived, about their purchasing power.”
It is alleged she targeted wealthy, English-speaking Brits who had little or no family.
Once at the home, the clients would be pushed into handing over deeds to their properties and bequeathing their estate when they died, it is alleged.
Police say their mobile phones would also be taken away.
The three have been charged with fraud, membership of a criminal group and unlawful assumption of property.
They have not yet been named.
