Criminal Organisation of 'Professional Lovers' Dismantled for Defrauding Victims

The Civil Guard, under the 'Fake James' operation, has arrested 21 individuals and investigated four others for defrauding €1.5 million through the 'love scam', deceiving 70 people by pretending romantic relationships.

This was reported by the Armed Institute in a statement detailing that the investigation began after one victim reported being defrauded of over €94,000, having been misled into believing they were in a romantic relationship with someone who claimed to have financial problems.

The organisation used its own victim recruiters, who deceived in a natural and seemingly normal manner. They obtained information from their victims through social media or any other data such as email and even mobile phone numbers.

Once this information was obtained, they contacted the victims, posing as a real person, using a fictitious profile image and pretending to have a job that did not actually exist. After a period during which the criminals gained the victims' trust, even forming an emotional or romantic relationship, they simulated having financial difficulties.

Ultimately, the victims committed to helping the supposed criminals by depositing large sums of money into bank accounts provided to them through instant messaging applications.

The Civil Guard's Technological Crimes Team took over the investigation and has identified at least 70 people who were victims of this scam method in the provinces of Madrid, Navarra, Alicante, Álava, Seville, Vizcaya, and Murcia. The network, "perfectly structured", operated not only in Spain but also throughout Europe and some African countries.

They had different assigned roles, as some members focused on recruiting and emotionally manipulating victims, while others forged documents to later open bank accounts or create "shell companies".

Additionally, those responsible for creating bank accounts with false data or "mule" data also laundered the illicitly obtained money into the legal market. They purchased goods to be transported to African countries or directly sent the money to these countries.

During the investigation, agents managed to obtain the data of the individuals forming this criminal organisation. In total, seven searches were conducted in two Navarrese and five Madrid localities.

Furthermore, 21 members have been arrested and four others investigated for fraud, money laundering, and belonging to a criminal organisation. Additionally, 93 bank accounts with €1.5 million have been blocked, and four vehicles have been seized.