Agents of the National Police have arrested a woman in the Valencian town of Torrent accused of defrauding more than 1.3 million euros from nine people in her close circle through supposed stock market investments, according to details provided by the Superior Headquarters in a statement.
The suspect, 51 years old, is being investigated for alleged crimes of fraud, document forgery, and usurpation of civil status. The proceedings, which have culminated in her arrest, have been carried out by the Cybercrime group of the National Police Station in Torrent.
The investigations began in mid-July when it was confirmed that a man had been the victim of a fraud of 875,000 euros after making numerous transfers to a friend, to a bank account based in Belgium, since the year 2024. In response to repeated requests for the return of the capital and the supposed profits, the woman replied with continuous excuses and evasions.
From this initial case, the agents identified other affected individuals until reaching a total of nine victims. In total, the now detained woman would have defrauded more than 1.3 million euros.
The investigators confirmed that the amounts sent by the victims were not allocated to any real investment, despite what the woman claimed. Part of the money was used to reimburse what had been contributed by previous victims when they demanded it, and another part to maintain the high standard of living of the suspect.
According to the Superior Headquarters of Police, the woman would display herself on social media alongside highly prestigious businessmen and socially relevant figures, thus reinforcing her image of success in front of her surroundings.
The agents found out that the victims had made various transfers to the investigated individual between the years 2022 and 2024, under the concept of stock market investments.
During the investigation, it was also discovered that the suspect had created an email account using the data of a well-known CEO of a Spanish multinational and maintained exchanges of messages with the victims to pretend a supposed collaboration in high-level investments in the United States.
The arrested woman also allegedly forged entry seals from the Valencian Tax Agency, imitating the signature of one of the victims, with the aim of presenting that documentation to the Belgian banking entity and thus avoiding the blocking of the account by not being able to justify the origin of the large sums of money.
After gathering all these indications, the National Police proceeded to arrest the woman, who was released after giving a statement, with the obligation to appear before the judicial authority when required.
"PONZI SCHEME"
In the type of fraud used by the arrested woman and known as "Ponzi Scheme," the scammer promotes a sophisticated investment with high returns and low or no risk to the victims, so that they hand over large amounts of money.
The scammer uses part of the money from some victims to give it to others when they demand the supposed benefits obtained from their investment.
The National Police has emphasized that this system is unsustainable in the long term, at the moment when new investors stop coming in. Thus, the structure collapses, it has highlighted.