A COUPLE who own an Alicante real estate agency were amongst four people arrested by the Policia Nacional for scamming mainly foreign customers.
Three men and a woman have been accused of fraud, document forgery, coercion and infringing employee rights over the illegal employment of a non-Spaniard.
The Policia Nacional said that over €100,000 was illegally obtained by the scammers.
READ MORE:
- Costa Blanca real estate agency operated pyramid-style swindle conning €5 million out of clients in Spain
- Estate agents stole €120k from elderly client’s Costa Blanca home while she enjoyed ‘free’ spa holiday
- Real estate fraudster arrested on Spain’s Costa Blanca after three-year search
Besides the couple, the other detainees were a man who managed loans for them and a worker from another estate agency who kept the illegally-obtained money in an account without his employers knowing what he was up to.
A client went to the police to report that she was scammed after she lost a €50,000 deposit on a flat when she was coerced into signing away her rights to the property.
The police seized documents and found three other victims- mainly foreign nationals.
The customers were offered homes to buy, despite them not being for sale and despite the prospective buyers not qualifying for a mortgage.
Deals were offered on highly advantageous terms, and after paying out significant amounts of money as deposits and reservation fees, they were pressured into signing official-looking documents that were fakes.
They even included papers from banks that suggested they would get a mortgage.
Investigators found that the fraudsters took advantage of people’s ignorance about buying properties in Spain and the procedures for a legal purchase.
The victims were vulnerable as they all lived in rental accommodation on short-term lets, meaning they were easily hood-winked.
The Policia Nacional said the buyers suffered ‘severely’, as they cleared out their savings and bank accounts to make payments and even became homeless.
The investigation is still open, and efforts are continuing to identify more possible victims.
Click here to read more Costa Blanca News from The Olive Press.
