The lawyer, who asked his clients for up to 3,000 euros in advance to manage the files, fled with more than a million euros in his backpack.
The misfortune of some makes the happiness of others… This Wednesday, November 20, the Spanish media We buy revealed thata fake lawyer fled with more than a million euros in his backpack after having scammed several of his clients in Barcelona (Catalonia) who today find themselves penniless. A complaint was filed before the Spanish National Court.
The alleged fraudster, owner of the company Acaba con tu Deuda in Barcelona caused several victims before fleeing with the precious loot of more than a million euros. His strategy? Promise to reduce and consolidate their clients' debts by carrying out the necessary legal procedures thanks to the “second chance” law, which has come into force since 2015, which allows debts to be erased. To finance “the process”, the false lawyer requested between 2,000 and 3,000 euros to its customers.
The procedures allegedly initiated by this company were suspended, compromised or abandoned, says the Spanish daily, putting trapped customers even further into debt.
“We saw our boss leaving the building with a backpack full of money”
Cherry on the cake, the employees of the fake lawyer's company had not been paid for months. In his defense, the lawyer argued that he had been the subject of a scam, promising to pay them their salary later. Unconvinced, the employees decided to take a look at the company's cameras. They then saw their boss leaving with a backpack, loaded with tickets. In total, the scammer would have fled with a little more than 1.2 million eurosleaving its employees in the lurch. “We saw our boss leaving the building with a backpack full of money”said one of them to the newspaper We buy.
The case was reported by four people to the lawyer Eloi Esmerats, who decided to file a complaint before the National Court, since the scammer emptied the pockets of his clients throughout Spain.
“The complainant has family, a minor daughter, in Barcelona. He cannot change his way of living overnight,” declared the lawyer, convinced that the fugitive would be “soon found”.
Thousands of victims
Morearound fifty people spoke with the lawyers who bring the matter to court. However, the number of victims could exceed half a thousand, according to local media.
The amount of damage, currently estimated at 1.2 million euros, could easily exceed this figure as the investigation – which was opened by the prosecution – progresses, our colleagues underlined.
Some customers are now broke after investing “all they had” in this final attempt to “putting things back in order” of their financial situation, underlined the newspaper We buy.
With the help of his colleague Joaquim Bages, Éloi Esmerats hopes to recover the money that customers paid in advance. A fight far from won, they admitted, since the fraudster fled the country.
