A woman posing as a lawyer in Marbella has been arrested for allegedly conning an investor out of €100,000.
The 52-year-old suspect allegedly used a false identity and a series of elaborate tricks to convince her victim that she worked with leading estate agencies.
According to the Policia Nacional, she even managed to deceive genuine property professionals into giving her keys and access to luxury homes, allowing her to make her operation appear legitimate.
Her alleged scheme unravelled after a 43-year-old investor reported losing €100,000 in cash while attempting to secure a property in an upmarket development.
€80,000 and €20,000 cash deposits
The victim had been offered a rent-to-buy agreement on a property in a luxury residential development in the city.
Police said the arrangement was used as the ‘bait’ to draw him into the alleged scam.
After producing what investigators described as various ‘documentary tricks’, the woman allegedly persuaded the investor to make two cash payments as a reservation deposit.
The first was for €80,000, followed by another €20,000.
Once she had received the full €100,000, police allege that she disappeared with the money.
Investigators said the suspect had gone to considerable lengths to make herself appear credible.
She allegedly presented herself as an intermediary working with major Marbella estate agencies and promised property professionals that she could bring them new clients.
Some apparently trusted her enough to hand over keys and allow her inside properties – access which could then be used to bolster her credibility with prospective investors.
Used her sister’s passport
Investigators uncovered another extraordinary element of the alleged scheme when they established that the woman had also been impersonating her own sister.
The pair reportedly bear a strong physical resemblance.
Police said the suspect went as far as carrying and presenting her sister’s passport as identification, helping her temporarily evade police and judicial authorities.
A Marbella court subsequently issued an order for her arrest on suspicion of fraud.
She was eventually caught at Malaga Airport, where police said she was attempting to enter Spain using her relative’s documentation.
Officers used fingerprint analysis to establish her true identity before arresting her.
Police investigating possible further victims
The woman is being investigated for alleged offences including fraud, identity theft, document forgery, illegally practising a regulated profession and tax fraud.
She was also arrested in connection with the outstanding warrant issued by a Marbella court.
After appearing before a judge, she was ordered to surrender her passport and banned from leaving Spain as precautionary measures.
The investigation remains open.
Police are now trying to establish whether the woman may have used the same alleged property scam against other victims, raising the possibility that further cases could emerge.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
