The Guardia Civil in Nerja have arrested three people, suspected of fraud, document forgery, property usurpation, misappropriation, and money laundering in relation to inheritances and real estate.
The police operation began after a bank reported the suspicious withdrawals of large amounts of cash from the account of an elderly British client who had recently died.
Apparently, the account documentation had been forged to make the holder appear twenty years younger. The individuals taking the money out were identified as the authorised female lawyer and a male lawyer from another firm in Nerja. Both belonged to law firms specialising in property sales and inheritances for foreign citizens residing in the Axarquía region.
During their examination of the bank account, the police detected the receipt of another large inheritance originating from a foreign woman who had died alone in a nursing home. She had been admitted to the home at the request of Nerja Social Services; prior to that, her neighbours had provided food due to her mental-health issues.
To get hold of the inheritance, the arrested individuals allegedly used a forged holographic will. They also used other gang members as witnesses to validate the handwriting and confirm a fake romantic relationship between the woman and the deceased, British, account holder.
Investigators eventually located the elderly woman’s rightful heir in Switzerland: a son with whom she barely maintained contact. He had been contacted by one of the arrested lawyers asking for a power of attorney to transfer his inheritance. The son agreed, knowing his mother owned a Nerja apartment, but he never received any funds and filed a report in Switzerland.
A third lawyer, a direct relative of one of the arrested individual, was also detained. It appears that the trio carried out real estate transactions, fake family donations, vehicle sales, and cash transfers to launder the stolen money during several years. The Guardia Civil estimate the total amount obtained in this fashion was over one-million euros.
Officers carried out seven home searches across Nerja and Almuñécar, seizing 200,000 euros in cash, jewellery, electronic devices, and documents belonging to the deceased victims. The police deployment caused a significant stir in central Nerja due to the heavy presence of agents, canine units, and official vehicles.
The three detainees were brought before the lawcourt in Torrox, where the magistrate ordered that two of them should be remanded in custody. The investigation remains open to identify further victims and a further eleven indiviuals are under investigation.
(News: Nerja, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)
Keywords: Lawyers Arrested, Fraud, Inheritance, Elderly Foreigners, Deceased
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