A generous friend, a fake boyfriend, and a fabricated bail story: it sounds like the title of an episode from a surreal drama series. But this is not fiction. It occurred in Palma in 2021. The Public Prosecutor's Office is now seeking a two years and five months prison term for a 62-year-old Spanish woman accused of defrauding a close friend of 32,311 euros.
The trial is scheduled for next July in a criminal court in Via Alemania, after the parties failed to reach a plea agreement during the preliminary hearing this week. The details of the alleged scam, as outlined by the Public Prosecutor's Office, began in July 2021. The defendant, leveraging her close personal relationship with the victim, concocted a story that her non-existent boyfriend had been arrested at Palma airport for transporting gold bars in his suitcase. She claimed he was imprisoned and needed bail money, promising the friend he would be reimbursed.
From 29 July to 18 November, the victim made numerous transfers to various accounts worldwide, amounting to a total of 22,311.8 euros. The scam's climax involved a supposed lawyer who contacted the victim after he expressed numerous complaints. The lawyer instructed the victim to open two current accounts at a bank in Washington—one in his name and one in the woman's name—and deposit 5,000 euros into each. The victim complied, but he never saw this money again either.
Following a formal report by the victim, the National Police arrested the suspect on 31 May 2022. Subsequently, she was charged with a continuous offence of fraud. The upcoming trial will determine her fate, but the case already serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of misplaced trust and the lengths some individuals will go to exploit it.
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