A man and a woman have been arrested in Alicante for allegedly having defrauded a couple residing in Algeria of more than 67,000 euros with the fictitious sale of two franchises, under the deception that they would obtain a residence permit in Spain, a monthly salary of 3,500 euros and an apartment with sea views exempt from paying rent.
The investigation into this case began following a complaint filed a few weeks ago by a woman in which she claimed to have been a victim, along with her husband, of a scam due to events that occurred in September 2019, the Police reported this Friday. National.
According to the complainant, on that date, the couple saw an advertisement on a well-known social network offering the possibility of obtaining a residence permit in Spain with the purchase of a business franchise that cost 50,000 euros.
After contacting a person who confirmed what was stated in the advertisement and agreeing on the details of the financial operation, the victim and her husband traveled to Alicante where they made an appointment with a man who took them to a notary office where they signed a contract and a deed of sale of company shares.
Then, the woman made three bank transfers for a total of 52,615 euros and signed some documents in which she supposedly appeared as a franchisee of the company. Shortly afterwards she received a new proposal from the man with whom they had signed the contract and the franchise deed in which she offered them a monthly salary of 3,500 euros if they bought a second franchise worth 30,000 euros.
He also proposed, in exchange for hiring that second franchise, an apartment with sea views without having to pay any rent. Believing that what they were offered was real, the victim agreed to acquire a second franchise and traveled again to Spain to sign more documents and pay an initial payment of 14,500 euros, after which he returned to Algeria.
Not receiving any news from the man for some time about the franchises acquired or about the processing of his residence permit, the injured party tried to communicate with him, and the suspect did not answer her calls. Due to this situation, the woman searched social media forums for information about this person and she found comments in which she claimed that she had supposedly scammed several Algerians, in addition to a photo of the alleged scammer.
Although the events took place in 2019, an illness and Covid-19 restrictions made it impossible for the woman to travel to Alicante to file the complaint until a few weeks ago, police sources have explained.
During the investigation, the agents verified that the franchises that had supposedly been sold did not exist and that everything had been a deception devised and carried out by a 49-year-old Spaniard and a 33-year-old Algerian woman, who were arrested for the alleged crimes of fraud. and documentary falsification.
