The € 61,000 Mercedes has never been delivered: six people arrested for fraud, near Toulouse
Through Guillaume Laurens
Published on
updated Nov 27, 21 @ 10:59 am
It is a vast catch of net led by the gendarmerie of Haute-Garonne. Investigators from the Muret Research Brigade arrested, Wednesday, November 24, 2021, with the support of the Cyber group of the Toulouse research section, no less than six persons, in the context of a preliminary investigation opened for organized gang scam and bleaching, to the detriment of the manager of a virtual currency company, announces in a press release the public prosecutor’s office Toulouse.
Three men and three women, who would have multiplied the scams
According to Samuel Vuelta-Simon, the public prosecutor, the suspects are three men born in 1986, 1997, 2002 and three women born in 1986, 1991 and 2001.
“This very structured team would probably have committed several other scams to the detriment of businesses in the region for a total loss amounting to € 128,000”.
Cars, artwork, jewelry, and bitcoins
While in custody, searches made it possible to seize 3,200 euros in cash, but also “from furniture price ”, works dart, from jewelry, from checks, or a vehicle almost new. The prosecutor adds that a “seizure of 23,000 euros in bitcoins is in progress “.
The Mercedes at 61,000 euros never delivered
Still according to Samuel Vuelta-Simon, it all started with a complaint filed by a business executive, victim of a roundabout scam. He was “in contact with a person saying he was interested in buying virtual currency” who sold him a Mercedes C63 vehicle for an amount of € 61,000, which must be paid in bitcoins ”. A good deal, since this car, new, is generally worth 20,000 euros more …
But if a first deposit of 28,000 euros was indeed made by the buyer, “it was converted into cashless money very quickly by the beneficiary”, relates the prosecutor. “While awaiting delivery of the vehicle and after paying this part of the price, the buyer resumed providing a new Volkswagen Golf 8 vehicle as a guarantee. However, this vehicle was stolen from him two days later ”.
At the end of the day, said Mercedes was never delivered and the buyer ended up realizing the scam of which he was the victim.
Scams also in stores
But these cybercriminals were not rife only online … The investigations carried out by the investigators of the gendarmerie made it possible to bring to light “a structured family organization and the commission of many other scams to the detriment of shops of the region ”, in particular in Haute-Garonne and in Tarn-et-Garonne, according to a different modus operandi.
“This time it is simply a matter of showing up when the stores close, ordering valuable items and picking up the goods very quickly, before the victims notice the fraudulent nature of the payment.”
Six suspects referred, including four in pre-trial detention
The six people arrested near Toulouse, some of whom are deemed to be known to the courts, were referred to the public prosecutor’s office on Friday, November 26. Judicial inquiries were opened for organized gang fraud, money laundering, concealment of organized gang fraud, identity theft and license plate theft.
The prosecution requested the indictment of the six persons referred, the remand in custody for four of them, and strict judicial control for the other two. The case is now in the hands of an investigating judge.
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