The National Police have arrested a 43-year-old man in Elda (Alicante) on suspicion of fraud. He allegedly used social media to recruit people looking for work, especially those who were in an irregular situation, and then verbally agreed to do the work but didn’t pay them for it.
Several reports about similar unlawful activities led to the start of the investigation. The victims said that a man who contacted them over social media and offered them farm work defrauded them. The National Police said in a statement that they did not get the agreed-upon payment once the work was done.
There were two parts to the investigation. In the first phase, three victims were found. They had used online job search profiles to find a man who then called them and they agreed to do a number of farming and gardening duties on his remote property. They weren’t compensated when the work was done, even though they tried many times to get paid.
In the second part of the inquiry, the agents found a fourth victim who had also contacted the same individual. For ten days, he had been doing masonry and carpentry work on a house.
This victim said that they had not signed a contract and that the job was done without any safety safeguards. The victim did not get paid for the work they completed.
The agents saw the same crime happen with each of the victims: the suspect promised to do work for them but then didn’t pay them, which tallied up to a total of 1,490 euros.
The alleged perpetrator did the work without a contract and without the safety procedures and protective gear that were required, knowing that the victims were in the country illegally. Police think the man took advantage of the victims’ weak state and the fact that they were afraid to report what happened since he might not go in trouble for it.
During the operative phase of the investigation, the police carried out an operation that led to the arrest of the primary suspect for his role in a fraud crime.
Author: Derek Appleton
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