He wore many identities, matched to the number of women he managed to meet online. The names Alvaro, Pablo Angosto, Albert Planas appear in the stories, and as he claims on dating apps, he is a lawyer, a businessman, a stock investor, and a plastic surgeon. Yet in court records, Albert Cavalle Barcelona is described as a young man with a history of fraud. He has been convicted on multiple occasions, with several sentences totaling more than three years. The prosecutor’s letter, reviewed in a public investigation, accuses him of deceiving women for financial gain.
Five of these women testified as co-defendants this Wednesday in a Barcelona Court. Both the prosecution and the defense were seeking the maximum possible sentence to date, comprising nine years and ten months. The charges include ongoing fraud, a theft, and two instances of obstruction of justice.
blocked money
One woman testified that she met him on Badoo in May 2017, where he presented himself as a respected surgeon and the son of the owner of a cosmetic surgery clinic in Barcelona. She claimed to have funds deposited in Panama and described many trips to that country. With this profile, the so-called love swindler persuaded a Catalan woman to lend him a loan, creating what she described as a fraudulent emotional relationship to project solvency. The amount involved was 51,000 euros according to the prosecutor’s report.
According to his lawyer, Cavalle used a typical deception seen in dating apps to approach numerous women. During those months, the media reported on the Panama Papers scandal. Cavalle allegedly persuaded a woman that he was among those affected, claiming a large amount of money was blocked in Panama and that cash was needed.
luxury hotels
The woman who believed him lent 51,000 euros, and Cavalle allegedly took advantage of the victim staying at home to access a VISA card and a mother’s PIN. The prosecutor and the complainant say he made a purchase of 3,496.51 euros using those details.
The Panama Papers lie helped the scammer locate another woman he met in June 2017, whom he invited to spend a few nights at the Barcelona Princess hotel. He reportedly gave 10,500 euros to demonstrate solvency.
500 euro banknotes
While defrauding those two, he also targeted a third woman he met through the POF network. The Public Ministry notes a sum of 1,803.48 euros related to this case. Before this victim, he used the name Albert Planas and claimed Andorran nationality and connections to a family that owned a medical clinic.
The young Catalan allegedly boasted of having many 500 euro notes and asked for a thousand euros. When the woman handed over the money, Cavalle presented a screenshot of a supposed transfer as proof, but the transfer never occurred.
mixed bag
A few days later, the woman uncovered the deception. After several meetings at a Gracia home in Barcelona, he disappeared with 500 euros in cash and altered his identity and credit card data. An SMS later informed a different hotel reservation at BCN Montjuic, charging 303.48 euros for a room he did not want.
Cavalle allegedly paid 202.42 euros for a room using another woman’s card, under the name Álvaro. A booking through the Catalonia Paseo de Gracia hotel was made in the name of Pablo Angosto Pallares, the alias he used when pursuing his next target.
in disorder
The fifth accuser is a foreign national in an irregular situation in Spain who met Cavalle through a dating site in November 2015. After a few dates, he posed as a lawyer, claiming to be the son of the Planas clinic owner and a manager at a bank. He suggested he had friends in the Madrid ministry who could resolve problems.
The woman gave him 1,000 euros to open an account in her mother’s name and another 2,000 euros to obtain a Spanish NIF. Cavalle then blocked her on WhatsApp and disappeared.
twenty women
As with other cases over the years, nearly twenty women have made accusations. The young man has faced four specific fraud convictions and has been acquitted in six other cases. He admits having relationships with five complainants but denies defrauding them. According to his lawyer, David Sans, the scams described are typical dating-app deceptions aimed at approaching as many women as possible.
After being warned by former partners, Cavalle allegedly threatened one of them: every time I approach your house.
Cavalle asserts that any money received during more or less stable relationships was strictly voluntary and that the outcomes were inconsistent with accusations of fraud.
“My friends are waiting for you in prison”
The case also includes two counts of obstruction of justice for threatening two former partners who reported him and attempting to persuade them to withdraw their accusations. On a WhatsApp message, he mocked the women and suggested that judges would not believe them. In another interaction, he visited a different victim’s home to warn her, offering payment if she would drop the complaint, then shifted to a hostile tone as he pressed closer to her residence.