On Tenerife, a fraudster sold rented cars: he avoided prison, but must pay €247,000 in compensation.

The man thought he had planned everything out and that no one would suspect a thing. He wanted to pull off a car scam in Tenerife without being exposed. But he was still found, arrested, and tried in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The court found him guilty of fraud: he had rented 60 cars and then sold them as his own.

Prosecutors wanted him to serve three years in prison and return nearly €280,000 to the victims he had swindled. But the prosecutor's office, the victims, and the lawyer agreed on a different punishment. The man pleaded guilty and agreed to pay damages in the amount of €278,000. From this amount, €30,800, which he had returned to two deceived individuals, had already been deducted. So he had €247,200 left to pay. Instead of three years in prison, he was given two.

Since he had no previous problems with the law, the court decided not to imprison him if he did not commit any crime within five years. If he broke the law, the agreement would be canceled and he would be immediately imprisoned.

It all happened very quickly, in just two weeks, from March 26 to April 15, 2021. The man rented many cars from different companies. He did it himself or through acquaintances who were unaware of his plans. He then sold these cars to other people or companies that resell cars. Those who bought cars from him quickly realized that he was not their real owner. Within hours, the buyers were forced to return the cars to their real owners, even though they had already paid the fraudster for them.

To gain trust, the man presented himself as an employee of a credit company. He wanted people to think that he was trustworthy. He also has to pay this company €3,000 for illegally using their name.

In total, he sold 19 cars to a representative of one company for €136,500. Of this amount, he has already returned €14,000. He sold another car for €10,000 and another for €11,000. In another deal, he sold 11 cars for €77,500, and another four for €43,000. He has already returned €16,800 to the last company.

In addition, he tried to sell 24 cars to an Italian businessman from the south of Tenerife. They agreed on a price of €8,000 per car. The businessman paid a €5,000 deposit, but the scam was exposed and he did not pay the rest of the money (€192,000).

To pull this off, the fraudster posed as a representative of a financial company, even though he had nothing to do with it. He also used his parents' bank accounts to have buyers transfer money. This was how he tried to hide the fact that he was receiving money for the sale of cars.

After the investigation began, four bank accounts were blocked, containing €32,802, €18,000, €11,500 and €37,800.

All the companies that rented out the cars were able to get them back intact, so they are not considered victims of fraud.

At the trial, it was revealed that the man has bipolar disorder, which "affected his ability to think and make decisions," but not enough to completely suppress it. The prosecution, the defense, and the defense agreed not to appeal the verdict.