Up to 300,000 euros: six of those arrested for "high-quality" real estate scams are in prison

BarcelonaA seven-month police investigation has dismantled an active criminal network based in Catalonia and Andalusia that was dedicated to defrauding real estate investors. The operation resulted in the arrest of around twenty people, six of whom were remanded in custody this Friday. The gang is believed to have defrauded more than €1.2 million throughout Spain, and the victims are primarily property owners and investors who had purchased properties with purchase options, believing the transaction to be legitimate. The arrested individuals first searched for high-value properties on real estate websites. Once they selected the most attractive properties to entice investors, they conducted a thorough search to verify that the properties were free of encumbrances. It was therefore essential to identify the property owners, since, using their personal data, they could create high-quality forged documents—primarily identity documents and passports—that could easily go unnoticed, allowing them to steal identities and grant powers of attorney over the properties to people they trusted, explains Division Chief Martínez. It all began with a complaint filed in May 2025 by a notary's office in Figueres regarding an alleged large-scale fraud. During months of investigation, the police confirmed that the organization was stealing the identities of property owners and forging powers of attorney to gain control of certain properties, which they then used to defraud private investors who provided loans using the properties as collateral. The officers arrested 22 people in Manresa, Rubí, Sant Fruitós de Bages, Figueres, Salt, and Castellolí, as well as in the Sevillian municipality of Estepa. Martínez explained to ARA that during their raids and searches they discovered documentation leading them to believe they will uncover at least two or three more attempted scams, in addition to those already discovered. Therefore, he does not rule out further arrests.

Thirteen Power of Attorney Frauds

During the investigation, officers confirmed the existence of thirteen fraudulent powers of attorney granted using forged ID cards, as well as seven completed scams. In addition, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) uncovered six other attempted scams. "This case is no different from others we've investigated, but with this type of crime and these criminal groups, it takes between six and eight months to identify the members and understand their modus operandi; that is, how they repeatedly committed this aggravated fraud," he explains.

The modus operandi The group's scheme began with document forgery. The goal was to simulate having power of attorney over dozens of properties in order to contact advisors or financing intermediaries. By feigning a personal situation of need in which the owner had been forced to grant power of attorney to third parties, the members requested large loans, often between €100,000 and €300,000, and used the property as collateral. Once they had reached an agreement with investors, they met before a notary to finalize the transaction with a signature and a bank transfer. The criminals divided the profits and made investments, purchases, and bank transactions to conceal the illicit origin of the money. During the raids, officers seized forged identity documents and passports, electronic devices, a modified starter pistol, and small quantities of drugs. Most of those arrested had prior convictions for various offenses, and the organization's leaders had been arrested previously for the same crimes. They are accused of fraud, money laundering, forgery of public documents, identity theft, and membership in a criminal organization.