Fugitive ‘swimming pool scammer’ in cell: white-collar criminal Pedro Leistrawerpen in Genk (Ant)
The Antwerp Court of Appeal filed Petrus Leistra from this year to one year, for inadmissible fraud with his mail order company BSI. The Nederbelg from Schoten got off with a light punishment, because the fraud case had dragged on for more than ten years. In addition, a number of blunders had been committed on the part of the police: large parts of the criminal file had simply been lost, due to sudden falls.
But Leistra, the prototype of a Dutch pop artist from the residential areas around Antwerp, has green concerns on his mind. Leistra was found to be closely involved in the implementation funded pool builder Whoppa Pool. Dozens of customers of Whoppa Pool told how they paid advances of up to 18,000 euros to Whoppa Pool, but after that the company stopped giving.
ALSO READ. Advance paid, but never seen a pool: dozens of Whoppa Pool customers have been scammed
The duped customers unanimously pointed in the direction of Petrus “Pedro” Leistra, the top salesman with his smooth talk, his slicked back silver-grey hair and his beautiful sports car. Leistra said through his lawyer Alex Buelens that he was “just a salesman, not the manager of Whoppa Pool”.
“Not a villain”
The business manager would have been, but died in 2021. The victims, however, Vinken was no more than Leistra’s straw man, who would be the spider in the web behind measuring the scam. What’s more, Leistra would have coolly continued its activities with another company after the bankruptcy of Whoppa Pool. Leistra rejected the buildings. “I’ve made mistakes, but I’m not a villain,” Leistra said.
Whoppa Pool’s curators seem to think otherwise. The accounting was not a mess, but rather non-existent. Whoppa Pool turned out not only to divert money from customers, the company also made huge progress in VAT and social security.
ALSO READ. Swimming pool scammer also sold non-existent student accommodation: “Leistra is a spider in the web of scams”
Petrus Leistra has not been targeting Belgium for months, but mainly focused on the Spanish city of Marbella. The arrest on Saturday evening in Genk therefore seems more like a fluke. Leistra was stopped by the police, who handcuffed him because of a warrant of arrest. Leistra has to sit out one year from the previous year by the Court of Appeal in Antwerp.
The police zone Carma handed Leistra in to the federal judicial police, who may want to question him about his role in the Whoppa Pool case. They could not provide any further information at the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office on Sunday. His lawyer Alex Buelens was also unable to provide details. “I know he was arrested, but I have no further information,” said Mr Buelens.