Lanzarote Real Estate scam uncovered

A 45 year old woman who managed two real estate companies on the island of Lanzarote has allegedly defrauded up to 17 people interested in buying properties on the island, mostly foreigners, of around €1 million between 2007 and 2011. The woman was arrested on the 4th February (2013) after the Costa Teguise Guardia Civil finished their investigations in September 2012.

It is alleged that the woman, from Tias in Lanzarote, received large amounts of money to buy real estate on the island, making customers believe that the purchase had been made, when this was not true. In addition to this, she improperly appropriated money that they had paid for the payment of property transfer tax, which was also never paid, and sometimes even charged a monthly community fee on the non-existent property.

In a statement, the Guardia Civil said that in some cases, the foreign victims had ‘acquired’ these properties for investment purposes, for tourism rentals and were not for residential purposes. Through their investigations, the Guardia Civil have located up to 17 victims of the alleged scam in five different countries: 9 people from Ireland, 4 in England, 1 from Italy, 2 Spanish people and 1 person from Germany.

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