A scammer who carried out 2.7 million euros worth of frauds using 55 false identities has been arrested in Valencia. By Eugene Costello
A scammer who carried out 2.7 milion euros worth of frauds using 55 false identities has been arrested in Valencia. The fraudster used up to 55 false identities to amass a total of 2,700,000 euros. The cybercriminalhas been remanded in custody. He is accused of fraud, false documentation and money-laundering with multiple scams at national and international level in its various forms. These include what are known as the CEO scam, the “man in the middle” fraud, phantom holiday rentals or sale of non-existent products.
National police arrested the man, a 38-year-old Romanian, who allegedly defrauded more than 2,7 million euros over a period of six years. At the time of his arrest, his partner was also arrested for attacking police officers, attempting to assault them.
The investigation began at the beginning of 2022, when agents of the Cybercrime group of the Provincial Brigade of Judicial Police of Valencia became aware of a scam carried out with the CEO call scam. In this, the victim received an email pretending to be from a company with which they had commercial dealings. They then made a bank transfer to a fraudulent account set up with false details.
How his scams worked
When trying to to find out the true identity of the person who had opened the account, the agents found that he had never lived at the address in Valencia that he had given to open the account. He was also withdrawing money from different bank cash machines in the capital of the Turia and nearby towns.
Agents then began to receive requests for collaboration from police units in other regions of Spain. They were trying to locate this person who, using false identities, was committing frauds from Valencia.
Agents found that the bank accounts had been opened in person at bank branches in Valencia and neighbouring towns. Withdrawals always took place at ATMs in Valencia and the province. Addresses given to receive the bank cards and various documents were also located in Valencia. The same person appeared in the photograph of the various identity documents belonging to different countries.
364 accounts opened under 55 false identities
Agents learned that this person had been acting in Spain since at least 2018, carrying out multiple scams at national and international level. They have located 364 bank accounts opened under 55 false identities from Denmark, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia. They all corresponded to the same man, who has swindled more than 2.7 million euros to date.
At the beginning of February 2024, the investigators identified the suspect. However, he was not at his stated location because he periodically changed his address. They finally managed to locate him at a home where his partner apparently lived in May.
After an arduous investigation lasting several years with numerous surveillance devices, agents arrested the man when he was about to leave the house. He had rented a room with his partner. They also found five mobile phones, four passports from Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Denmark, four European Union citizenship certificates and two Romanian identity cards, all with different names.
The arrested man, who has a police record, has appeared in court. He was remanded in prison. Police have reported the arrest to numerous courts throughout Spain that are following proceedings related to false identities used by the detainee. He has also been reported to international authorities for numerous European Investigation Orders from various European countries.