He spent nearly six months hidden in an unknown location after the Barcelona Court issued its verdict last June. Arrest and imprisonment followed. Now, Albert Cavallé, the young Catalan convicted of deceiving more than twenty women, is no longer a free man. He was imprisoned seven and a half years after a complaint from a woman first reached authorities.
As Open Case first reported, known as I love the cheater, Cavallé emerged from hiding this morning and appeared at Lledoners Prison Center. He did so with his lawyer, David Sans, who has represented the fugitive in more than twenty cases in recent years.
Victims’ struggle
Cavallé’s victims had been pressing for years for the fraudster to be jailed and to serve the sentences he already faced. He had four outstanding convictions, and his failure to appear for several prior hearings intensified the pursuit against him. The relentless efforts of those women are paying off today. The so‑called romance fraudster is now behind bars and must serve a prison term of two years and three months for deceiving six women from whom he obtained a total of 68,500 euros.
During the trial Cavallé admitted his methods. He used dating apps such as Tinder and Badoo, posing as a lawyer, an investor, a surgeon, or the son of the owners of a renowned Barcelona clinic. His aim was to persuade victims of his supposed financial solvency. Among his deceptions, he claimed work and accounts in Panama and convinced one woman to hand over 49,000 euros in cash in several installments.
Planas Clinic
One account states that he met Cavallé on Badoo in May 2017. He presented himself as a famous surgeon and the son of the owner of the Planas cosmetic surgery clinic in Barcelona. He claimed to have Panama accounts to appear solvent. With this profile, the so‑called romance scammer convinced a Catalan woman with whom he started a fake romantic relationship to lend him 51,000 euros, according to the prosecutor’s briefing.
At that time the Panama Papers scandal dominated the media. Cavallé convinced the woman that she was one of many affected, saying large sums of money had been blocked in Panama and he needed cash in hand.
To bolster his story, he showed an email allegedly about a private flight and suggested actions he would take in a Central American country. He promised to repay the money as soon as the account was unblocked and even signed a debt acknowledgment with her.
panama papers
The Panama Papers lie helped the fraudster win the trust of another woman met in June 2017. He invited her to spend a few nights at the Princess Hotel in Barcelona and promised she would receive 10,500 euros in return for appearing in a certain scenario.
While Cavallé allegedly defrauded these two women, he also deceived a third girl contacted through a dating network, and cash was involved. The Public Prosecutor’s Office records a disappearance of about 1,803.48 euros. Before the other victim, he used the name Albert Planas, claiming Andorran nationality and presenting himself as the son of a millionaire family who owned an aesthetic clinic.
The young Catalan allegedly tried to project an image of abundance, waving around large wads of 500 euro bills to dazzle his targets. When a woman handed him money, Cavallé purportedly showed a transfer screenshot and claimed it was a refund that never materialized. The prosecutor’s office and the public ministry called for a sentence of nine years and ten months—covering a count of ongoing fraud, theft, embezzlement, and two obstruction-of-justice charges. He was ultimately given two years and three months in prison and will continue serving time at Lledoners Prison, while facing additional pending cases.