The complaint of a woman from La Muela (Zaragoza) victim of a scam was the beginning of the “Faraones” operation, which has ended with the dismantling of a criminal organization dedicated to pyramid schemes through multi-level franchises, from which they obtained almost three million euros.
According to the complainant’s version, in October 2015 she observed an advertisement on a well-known social network that advertised the acquisition of multi-level franchises as a way to earn money safely and without having to leave home.
After reading the eye-catching advertisement, he contacted the sponsor and started an online marketing training course, during which he got to know the group’s leaders in Spain and Portugal.
Convinced of the profitability of this business, the woman invested 5,000 euros in the acquisition of a franchise that also gave her a position in the structure of the group: either to acquire new franchises as an “investor” or as a “developer”. figure that invites other people to join the business, as did a relative who invested a similar amount. However, she never got any benefit, so she ended up denouncing a year later.
The investigation initiated at that time by the Technological Investigation Team (EDITE) of the Organic Unit of the Judicial Police of the Civil Guard of Zaragoza determined that it was a pyramid scheme in which there were several victims distributed throughout the national territory.
During their investigations, they obtained the identities of various people who, acting in a coordinated and hierarchical manner, carried out the deceptions from different parts of Spain, while their two main leaders were in Portugal and Brazil, where the stolen funds ended up.
To give their version more credibility, the criminals organized events for their potential investors in luxury hotels in different towns, where they gave details of the “successful†business with testimonials from other beneficiaries who acted as “baitâ€.
The investigation also verified how the components of the organization changed the name of the companies involved on several occasions to restart their activities with a new identity-
After investigating 8 members of the network -3 in Seville, 3 in Pontevedra, 1 in Madrid and 1 in Portugal-, on February 24 the main leader of the plot was arrested at the Lisbon airport when he was disembarking from a flight from Brazil.
The detainee, a 66-year-old man, was later transferred to the Zuera prison (Zaragoza), where he remains hospitalized. All the detainees are accused of fraud, money laundering and belonging to a criminal organization.
In addition, its two leaders have records for similar events and their companies are being investigated for fraud. In total, the agents have identified about twenty victims, although it is believed that there are many more that they did not report.
