A VALENCIAN con artist has been arrested after lying his ‘brother was a policeman’ to win the trust of unwary victims.

Ricardo M. G., 43, chatted online to prospective buyers of his car while claiming honesty and virtue by means of his imaginary crime-fighting sibling.

Ricardo then requested a down payment before going cold and refusing to return any calls or messages.

Ricardo is understood to have made thousands from the scam.

He was nabbed when an off-duty Policía Local agent in Paterna spotted the wanted man parking his Audi A3 in a commercial centre.

Six uniformed agents arrived and cuffed him on suspicion of fraud.

Investigations are underway to link the man to other similar crimes in the region.

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