Joshua Parfitt
A BAND of criminals that fraudulently purchased cars in the name of unknowing expats has fallen after a police sting led to the arrests of three gestors, a mechanic and two former vehicle owners.
The group purchased cars and took out insurance in the name of the unknown owners in the regions of Alicante and Murcia leading to traffic violations against people with no knowledge of their supposed vehicles.
The police investigation – dubbed Operation ‘Negociado’ – began when an expat in Villajoyosa contacted authorities after receiving three denouncements for traffic violations committed in a car she insisted knowing nothing about.
The specific traffic violations are not known, but relate to driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding, dangerous driving, driving without a licence and destroying road signs.
Guardia Civil traced the offending vehicles to a car garage in San Pedro del Pinatar, in Murcia, who had obtained the expat’s documentation through a third person close to the expat.
Investigations revealed the expat’s signature had been falsified – along others – in the sale and purchase of a car sthrough well-known gestorías in Murcia and Alicante.
The mechanic and two former car owners have been charged with crimes of fraud and falsification of documents, while the three gestors have been charged as accomplices to the crimes.
The case continues…
