Real estate scammers in Tenerife face 10 years in prison
In Tenerife, five people face up to 10 years in prison for real estate fraud, where they embezzled client funds by promising lucrative deals with bank-owned properties.
The Tenerife Prosecutor's Office is seeking a total of 10 years in prison for five people. They are accused of illegal appropriation of money.
The investigation revealed that these individuals worked in a real estate agency (owned by one of them). They offered clients a profitable purchase of real estate, supposedly owned by banks, claiming the price would be below market value.
To start the purchase process, clients were asked to make a deposit. However, the deals never materialized because the agency did not actually have access to bank-owned properties.
The case will be heard in court next week. At least six people have been affected and have reported the fraud.
The prosecutor's office is requesting one year in prison for four of the defendants (because they partially returned the money). And for the fifth – six years, because he returned nothing. He withdrew almost 60,000 euros from a client's account and transferred it to himself, having a power of attorney. He also received 5,000 euros in cash from the same client and did not return it. In addition, a couple gave him 80,000 euros to buy and renovate another property, but he did not register anything.
The prosecutor's office believes that all five defendants acted in concert to lure clients with promises of profitable housing purchases at a low price.
Among the accused are the owner of the agency, two salespeople, the company's administrator, and his "oral partner." They agreed to sell clients real estate that supposedly belonged to banks. They planned to buy it at a low price and then resell it to clients at market value to make a large profit.
But they did not take into account that the banks would not want to sell this property at prices below market value.
Therefore, they began offering real estate to clients without even buying it from the banks. They still signed contracts and took a deposit. For example, one client paid 9,800 euros, another 16,000 euros, and a couple 13,000 euros.
The agency promised to return the money if the deal did not go through. But instead, they divided the money among themselves: 25% went to one salesperson, 25% to another salesperson and the owner, and the remaining 50% to the administrator and his partner.
When the deals fell through, clients demanded their money back, but to no avail. Only after contacting the police did the defendants begin to return some amounts.