She and 50 others lost their life savings.
News Colombia.
A woman who handed over 40 million as a down payment for the purchase of a house has been the victim of a massive scam, in which nearly 50 people also lost their life savings.
The scammers, who operated in Tolima, Caqueta and HuilaThey not only sold fake homes, but also offered supposed help to win the lottery.
In a video analyzed by the Police, two men, who apparently were good citizens, are seen walking down a street in Neiva. However, the authorities identified them as two of the most wanted scammers in Colombia.
This is how these scammers operated
The criminals approached their victims, especially domestic workers and retired seniors, near financial institutions and health centers. They offered everything from how to win million-dollar lottery prizes to low-cost housing.
One of the victims, who preferred to remain anonymous, recounted her experience: “They showed me a house and I saw it and I liked it. I gave them 40 million pesos.”
The woman signed seemingly legal papers, but when she went to see the house she had supposedly bought, she found out the truth: the house was not for sale.
“I spoke to the owner of the house and they told me that they were doing some renovations, but that they were not selling the house they had promised me,” said the victim. Like her, many other people lost their life savings.
Catching the scammers
Thanks to complaints made by the affected people, the Police managed to identify and capture the scammers.
Colonel Alexander Castillo, commander of the Neiva Police, explained that “the gang even offered help to win the lottery, promising large sums of money in exchange for collaboration to collect the grand prize. They also posed as brokers who would facilitate the purchase of houses.”
The gang operated in the departments of Tolima, Caquetá and Huila.
The members have criminal records for various crimes and have accumulated 28 complaints for qualified and aggravated theft, and escape from prison. After their capture, a judge sent them to prison.
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