The Civil Guard has arrested a man in Pilar de la Horadada for a series of scams related to the rental of holiday apartments as well as the fraudulent sale of a property.
According to the Guardia, a 27-year-old Spanish national and resident of Pilar de la Horadada, received 35,200 euros from one victim and 500 euros from another.
Agents were warned of a possible scam related to the sale of a home in Torre de la Horadada. The alleged seller had falsified the la nota simple del Registro de la Propiedad as well as the date and notarial data, so that the property appeared to be available for, when in fact it belonged to a German octogenarian who had been declared incapable and was in the care of the state.
The potential buyer inspected the property and agreed a price with the alleged fraudster of 85,000 euros for which he paid a deposit of 35,200.
The Generalitat, which brought the initial case against the fraudster, said that the property is not for sale and the potential buyer has been cheated. As a result of their investigation, the Civil Guard found that the detainee was advertising properties on the internet under the name of “Pablo Mar SL” which gave it the appearance of a genuine real estate business.
On its website it offered the rental of holiday apartments for the summer season in Pilar de la Horadada with an “exceptionally affordable prices, so as to gain the interest of potential renters”. As a result a number of people had paid deposits on properties that were not available and with no likelihood of their monies being returned.
At the moment, the Civil Guard has only managed to locate one victim of the rental scam, a resident of Santomera (Murcia) who contacted the detainee in March this year and paid him 500 euros for a rental that never materialized.
It is thought that more victims of this fictitious real estate company will be located as the investigation continues, although some people who have been identified have said they don’t wish to pursue charges.
The alleged fraudster has been charged with crimes of fraud and the counterfeit of a public document. Having appeared in court last week he has now been released on bail.
