The network was led by a 21 -year -old and consisted of advertising local accommodation apartments as if they were their own and defrauding the tenants.
A fraudulent lease scheme in Greater Porto victimized 88 peopleEspecially immigrants, and yielded almost 184,000 euros to a group led by Telmo V., a 21 -year -old merchant.
The young man, who faced financial difficulties, started the scam in 2022 And it had the help of family and friends. Now 16 defendants face prosecution charges for crimes such as criminal association, scam and falsification of documents.
Telmo V. owned a coffee in Rio Tinto and a candy store in Porto, but accumulated debts, including delayed lace and tax execution processes. To get money, in September 2022 the lease of the apartment where I lived, signing a fake contract with an Indian which paid 1200 euros and received keys that did not work. The scheme evolved rapidly, involving local housing that Telmo leased temporarily, where the young man organized visits and presented himself as owner.
The victims were convinced by the apparent legality of the contracts, provided personal documents and made Payments that reached 3500 euros. Many only realized fraud when the keys did not work or were confronted by the true owners of the dwellings, reports the.
Burla’s success attracted family and friends, who assisted victims’ capture and assigning bank accounts for the transfer of values. In addition to the crimes of burla and forgery, four of the accused will also respond for theft after stolen appliances from one of the apartments used in the scheme.
Among the documented cases are that of an Argentine who lost 1835 euros and saw his Family of six people homelessa Nepalese who had to contract bank loan after losing 1500 euros and a Brazilian who needed Santa Casa after paying 2800 euros for a nonexistent lease. In another case, a Portuguese family had to resort to the help of friends after losing 2400 euros.
