Alex Trelinski
A COUPLE have been accused of scamming an elderly Alicante man out of €83,000 and also getting him to change his will to make them the sole beneficiaries.
The ‘carers’- a Colombian husband and wife- have been arrested by the Policia Nacional for fraud and kidnapping.
The Spaniard, 75, became a virtual prisoner in his own home with his bank accounts cleared out- leaving him with just €270.
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The scam started in May 2024 when the woman, 53, met the pensioner in a hospital and offered to care for him after discovering he lived on his own and had no family or friends.
Within days, the volunteer moved into his home with her husband.
They then laid the foundations for their con, being friendly at all times, taking him for walks, and gaining his trust.
Once they got to know them well, they obtained details about his bank accounts, assets, passwords, and possible heirs in his will.
Months later, they convinced their elderly employer to travel with them to Colombia so that a farm could be bought in the couple’s name.
He underwent the long trip and was never shown any property, but instead his carers processed various documents.
During the visit his health deteriorated and he suffered regular humiliating treatment at their hands.
Back in Spain, the couple took away his house keys so that he couldn’t go out, including making visits to his bank.
They forced him to change his will in favour of them and got him to make transfers to bank accounts in Colombia in the name of had to trace third parties.
Police said that the transfers totalled €85,233.
Some of the money was used to buy two motorcycles, registered in the woman’s name, but the couple had no driving licenses.
Instead they were regularly used by their son.
One night, the elderly victim managed to escape when the couple were asleep.
He asked for help from a neighbour who contacted authorities.
A Policia Nacional patrol found him in an understandable state of shock and arrested the Colombian man and woman.
