Man ordered to repay €105,000 and jailed for fraud over property sale in Adeje
The Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has sentenced a man to one month in prison and ordered him to repay €105,000 after he fraudulently took money from a Russian couple as an advance payment for two duplex apartments and parking spaces in Fañabé, Adeje.
Acting as an intermediary for a real estate promotion, the man had no written or verbal authorisation to represent the company behind the development. According to the court, he accepted the money knowing he had no legal authority to carry out the sales, and the couple never received the properties.
Fraud Disguised as Legitimate Sale
The case dates back to 2007, when the complex was still under construction, and the victims paid the defendant in good faith, believing they were securing two properties each priced at €275,600. The man received €105,000 as a deposit, which he then kept for himself.
Although he claimed in court that he had passed the money on to the constructors, the judges rejected this defence, citing that the victims never received the apartments and the funds were never traced to the construction firm.
The court’s ruling noted that the only clear fact was that the defendant kept the money, and documents presented during the trial confirmed the payments made, without any evidence that the funds were transferred to the developer.
Fake Contracts and Dubious Practices
The contracts were signed in a sales office on-site, but the defendant had no authority to do so, and the signatures were described by the court as a mere “scribble” intended to impersonate the company’s administrator.
He offered various explanations for the missing funds, claiming he handed them to the administrator's son, used them to pay debts to another client, or spent them on advertising. None of these claims were backed up by evidence.
The developer’s administrator testified that the man worked solely on commission and had no power to sign contracts. Contracts were only valid if signed in the company’s main office and in the presence of an appointed lawyer.
The victims told the court they paid the agreed amount and never met the company administrator.
Sentence and Wider Implications
The defendant received a reduced sentence, just one month in prison, due to what the court described as excessive delays in the judicial process. However, he must repay the €105,000 he fraudulently obtained.
The private prosecution acting for the defrauded couple had originally sought six years in prison and €348,000 in damages, but the court found that only part of their claim could be substantiated.
The ruling also revealed that the man may have used similar tactics in at least four other cases related to the same development.
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