Three people have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in Calpe for their alleged involvement in a criminal group that subjected a 91-year-old woman to months of isolation, control and manipulation in order to seize her assets. The suspects include two men aged 64 and 67 and a 62-year-old woman. The victim, who is of foreign origin and has high purchasing power, was chosen because she lived alone in Spain.
The investigation, carried out by officers from the Calpe Guardia Civil Investigation Area as part of Operation Confide, began after a report was filed by the elderly woman’s children. They alerted authorities to the progressive isolation their mother was experiencing and the influence these individuals were exercising over her.
Enquiries revealed a structured system of operation carried out in several stages. Initially, the detainees isolated the woman from her environment by taking advantage of the fact that she resides alone in Spain while her family lives abroad. To achieve this, they changed the locks on her home, withheld her passport and blocked phone calls from her family and friends. Furthermore, they installed a video surveillance camera in the common areas of the building, aimed at her front door to monitor visitors, and diverted her bank and personal mail to an external letterbox controlled by the group.
As part of this control mechanism, those arrested placed their photographs around the elderly woman’s house. Investigators believe this may have been used to psychologically condition the victim and reinforce a false image of an emotional bond and dependency towards them.
Under this constant control, the suspects systematically accompanied the woman to various bank branches to make regular cash withdrawals. This circumstance caught the attention of acquaintances, as the victim usually had her bills paid by direct debit and paid for things using a bank card. Investigators estimate that the economic plunder reached approximately 20,000 euro in a short space of time.
Additionally, the investigation discovered that the group had managed to get the victim to alter her will in their favour. Taking advantage of the woman’s cognitive decline, they deceived her into believing she was signing the acceptance of her husband’s inheritance, when in reality she was signing documents designed to include the suspects in her final wishes. This situation has since been reversed. Due to the high value of assets owned by the victim abroad, the group even attempted to move her out of Spain to continue controlling her and gain access to her property.
The three detainees have been charged with aggravated fraud, coercion, disclosure of secrets, harassment and membership of a criminal group. After being brought before the Instruction Section of the Court of Instance in Denia, the judicial authority decreed their release with precautionary measures, imposing a restraining order and a prohibition on communicating with the victim to ensure her protection.
