The Civil Guard has dismantled a scheme that falsified documents to appropriate inheritances from deceased foreigners in the Axarquía. Three lawyers from Nerja have been arrested and another eleven people are under investigation.
The Civil Guard has arrested three lawyers from Nerja as suspected ringleaders of a criminal organization that falsified wills and simulated marriages to claim inheritances from deceased British citizens in the Axarquía. Another eleven people are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the scheme, which is believed to have gained over one million euros.
The operation, dubbed 'Fake Love', began after a bank reported suspicious movements in the account of an elderly British citizen. Agents verified that the account was controlled by a lawyer from Nerja, who was listed as an authorized person with extensive powers. The documentation to open the account had been falsified: the account holder appeared to be 20 years younger than they actually were and, moreover, had already passed away.
According to the investigation, the lawyer and another attorney from the same firm made periodic cash withdrawals. Both worked in firms specializing in real estate transactions and inheritances of foreign residents in the region, a profile they exploited to identify potential victims.
During the inquiries, agents uncovered a second fraudulent maneuver related to the inheritance of a foreign woman who died in a care home. The implicated parties allegedly used a forged holographic will and the testimony of several accomplices to simulate that the deceased had a romantic relationship, and even a supposed marital or de facto partnership, with the deceased British citizen whose identity they used to control the bank account.
Investigators managed to locate the legitimate heir of the woman in Switzerland, a son with whom she had little contact. According to the investigation, one of the lawyers even contacted him to request a power of attorney under the pretext of processing the inheritance, although the estate was never handed over to him, prompting him to file a complaint in his country.
The Civil Guard believes that a third person, also a lawyer and a direct relative of one of the detainees, also participated in the scheme. Investigators claim that for several years the implicated parties carried out real estate transactions, simulated donations, fictitious vehicle sales, investment fund contracts, cash withdrawals, and numerous transfers among group members to give a legal appearance to the money obtained.
The economic benefit obtained through this alleged fraud would exceed one million euros. The suspects are charged with alleged crimes of fraud, document forgery, usurpation of civil status, usurpation of real estate, misappropriation, money laundering, and belonging to a criminal group.
The investigation remains open to determine if there are more victims or new individuals involved in this alleged organization. The three detainees have already been brought before a judge, who has ordered the imprisonment of two of them. Sources from the case have confirmed that other inheritances processed by the same firms in recent years are being reviewed.
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