Alex Trelinski
ONE of Spain’s most-wanted fraudsters has been arrested at an Alicante hotel after conning a victim out of a luxury watch.
He specialised in making high-value bank transfers for purchases which never went through after he cancelled the transactions.
The 36-year-old Spaniard has notched up 54 arrests and 18 judicial complaints from several courts in the Valencian Community, as well as further north in Barcelona and San Sebastian.
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His latest ruse saw him respond to an online advert for a €13,500 watch by making an appointment to meet the seller at an Alicante hotel.
A deal was struck with the scammer making a bank transfer via his phone and he even showed a receipt for the transfer, which was voided minutes later.
The next day, the victim checked his account and found nothing.
He contacted his bank who said there was no pending transaction, and he then filed a complaint with the Policia Nacional.
The watch was eventually recovered after being sold to a store in Madrid.
A friend of the latest victim helped police trap the fraudster after he also advertised a watch that the scammer wanted to buy.
The conman met his new target at the same Alicante hotel with officers present at the venue, who recognised and then arrested him.
