Alex Trelinski
A MAN running an online camper van sales business has been arrested for defrauding at least a dozen people across Spain.
The 46-year-old Spaniard from Tibi(Alicante province) pocketed deposits for vehicles with customers getting nothing.
Victims came from Alicante, Barcelona, Granada, the Balearic Islands, Navarre and Sevilla- though the Guardia Civil believes that numbers could rise.
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The fraudster used an internet buying and selling platform to execute his con by advertising large vans that he had converted into homes.
The average price was around €20,000 and some people paid more than half of it upfront, according to the Guardia.
The business owner was also the subject of several search and arrest warrants issued by courts in Ayamonte (Huelva) and Granollers (Barcelona) for other scams.
Investigations started in mid-June when a woman told the Guardia based in Ibi(Alicante) that she realised she had been scammed when she was watching a television programme
She saw a report on a firm that scammed people by selling camper vans and not delivering them after payments were made.
Guardia officers inspected a workshop in Tibi where the owner rented several parking spaces for vehicles he was allegedly converting to be sold as camper vans, with eight parked up during their visit.
The vehicles were thoroughly inspected and none had been modified for use as camper vans.
They had actually been imported from Germany and were not registered in Spain.
The company sent out contracts for the camper van deals and conversions without a signature, date or deadline for delivery.
The fraudster though provided his victims with bank account details which did not have his name on them to avoid being tracked down.
The Guardia Civil investigation is still ongoing.
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