He believed he had a lover named Esmeralda for years, but he was unable to meet her since Gipsy law prohibited direct contact until the relationship was formal. For romantic fraud against a person with a disability in Villajoyosa, the Alicante Provincial Court condemned two members of a partnership to a total of one and a half years in jail. Over the course of the four-year romance, they were able to obtain roughly 57,000 euros from the victim, who had a claimed 65 percent impairment. When the victim’s mother and brother reported the incident and started getting threats, the matter became public.
The couple entered a guilty plea to repeatedly deceiving the victim in a plea bargain issued by the Provincial Court’s Tenth Section on Monday, 18th May. At first, the defendants, who were represented by attorney Miguel Ángel Montserrat Gandolfo, were facing a seven-year prison term. After they acknowledged the offences of fraud, obstruction of justice, violence, and property damage, this was shortened to one and a half years. The decision imposes two fines for assault and property damage, one year for obstruction of justice, and six months in prison for fraud.
The deceit of “Esmeralda”
The fraud took place between 2018 and 2022, a span of four years. To trick the victim into thinking he was having an affair with a fictitious woman named Esmeralda, the convicted individuals created a complex web of deceit. The con artists reassured the man that “Gipsy laws” prohibited any direct contact until the relationship was formal in order to keep him from growing suspicious because he couldn’t see or talk to her.
Under this pretence, the duo pretended to be middlemen, persuading the victim to spend money on the purported girlfriend on a regular basis. The victim’s money was used for the scammers’ own whims and costs, including a high-end phone for over €1,000 and a loan for an air conditioner placed in the defendants’ own home, according to the indictment, which the offenders confirmed. These, together with other internet transactions and ATM withdrawals, increased the whole amount of fraud to more than €57,000.
Threats and assault on the mother
The victim’s mother’s suspicions caused the scheme to fall apart in December 2022. She was able to record the accused as they accompanied her son to a bank branch to take out cash since she was suspicious of what was going on. The defendants responded violently when they were found, striking the mother and smashing her glasses.
Following the filing of the complaint, the couple attempted to use intimidation to impede the legal process. They made threatening phone calls and accosted the victim’s brother on the street, asking that he drop the case. The court has denounced these efforts as obstruction of justice.
Payment of compensation
The decreased penalty was largely due to the offenders’ admission of guilt and their prior payment of €30,000 to repair the damage. If the guilty persons have no past criminal record, they may be able to avoid prison because the term is less than two years and some of the civil culpability has been fulfilled.
When the court asked the victim’s mother if she was happy with the settlement money, she replied that she was angry about the pain the defendants had given her.
Battle in Benidorm
However, the Alicante Provincial Court found two men guilty of assault for their roles in a brawl in a Benidorm pub. They agreed a plea deal with the prosecution after admitting to the crimes, with one of them getting a two-year prison sentence and the other a fine. In this instance, the parties have reached a consensus.
In particular, the Third Section court that was supposed to try the case issued a guilty verdict “in voce” in light of this acknowledgement. As a result, the first defendant was spared prison because the sentence was suspended as long as the defendant did not commit another crime during that time, while the second defendant would be subject to a four-month fine of three euros per day.
After the defendants agreed to the offences, the prosecution’s initial request for a four-year jail sentence for the first defendant and an 18-month prison sentence for the second was lowered.
According to the public prosecution’s statement, the conflict that resulted in the mutual assaults between the two defendants occurred early on 3rd December, 2021, when they quarrelled for unexplained reasons in the lavatory area of the recreational facility.
At that point, the defendant—who was now facing a fine—punched the other defendant in the face, resulting in a tooth loss and a bruising around his eye. This defendant, who is currently serving a two-year jail sentence, saw his attacker outside after exiting the building, grabbed a glass bottle off the ground, and smacked him in the face.
Among other things, the accident caused the man to sustain a jaw injury and lose face sensibility. The sentence is definitive and cannot be challenged; it must now be formalised in writing.
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