Two arrested for scamming a million euros posing as stock investors of a US company

The Guardia Civil have arrested a man and a woman in Gran Canaria, aged 21 and 26 years old respectively, for crimes of fraud and money laundering, after they were accused of defrauding more than one million euros from different people with one of them posing as a stock investor from a US company.

According to the Guardia Civil, the victims placed their trust in the 21-year-old man, transferring large amounts of money to him, based on the economic situation of each victim, with amounts ranging between 2,500 euros and 730,000 euros.

In an official police press release, they have detailed that in the Operation, called Cablecito, carried out in Santa Lucía de Tirajana, the victims are spread over several regions of Spain, but most are here in the Canary Islands, and also confirmed that one of the detainees had a previous charge for fraud in the past.

The Guardia Civil became aware of the scams after receiving six complaints filed by different people, who reported that they had met one of the criminals personally, or through communications carried out through video games, but the description of the people and the crimes created a pattern.

So far victims have been identified in Barcelona, ​​Ibiza, and the Canary Islands, but they aren’t ruling out the possibility of uncovering more as the investigation continues.

In the press release, the police have outlined the methods that the scammers used with the information coming from the 26-year.old woman, who explained that the man convinced his victims by presenting himself as an analyst and investor who worked in the stock market for a prestigious entity in New York, even showing them documents, that he had falsified himself, and apps on his mobile phone.

He promised his victims "high returns” from their investment, and people believed him transferring their life savings to him in some cases. During the investigation the police monitored the money he had swindled, "due to the standard of living above his means”, and after a period of time, he informed the ‘investors’ that their money had been lost due to political causes or weather catastrophes due to force majeure when in reality he had spent it.

Due to this, the Guardia Civil believes it is “very possible" that there are other victims who do not know yet that they have been scammed, and have believed the explanations by the so-called investor.

During the operation, a search was carried out in a home in Vecindario in La Palmas de Gran Canaria, where the mobile phones of the detainees and items allegedly purchased with the victim's money were seized, such as a new Smart TV, several video game consoles, a watch valued at 1,500 euros, and various pieces of documentation.

The rest of the scammed money was spent on travel across Europe, 5-star hotels, and bets on internet gaming platforms. After appearing in front of a judge in Las Palmas, the couple have been released with charges awaiting trial.