Five suspects have been detained in relation to a fraud case spanning across Spain, including the Madrid municipality of Móstoles and the Alicante province. The defendants are accused of deceiving two elderly women, aged 74 and 78, out of 6,500 euros along with a range of jewelry through a widespread scam commonly known as tocomocho. The National Police reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Unit (UDEF) and officers from the Alicante Province Judicial Police Brigade collaborated to track down the individuals after detecting patterns of similar frauds carried out by a family clan in different parts of the country.
The two victims, residents of Alicante, became targets due to a scheme in which criminals exploited vulnerable elderly people. Police statements indicate that one woman was robbed of 500 euros, while the other lost about 6,000 euros in cash and costly jewelry. Security camera footage and the victims’ testimonies helped investigators piece together the sequence of events and identify the five people involved. The case illustrates how the scammers used fast-moving manipulations to gain the trust of their targets and extract substantial sums of money and valuables.
Cheat
Authorities say the operations began when an individual approached the victims pretending to suffer from a medical or mental health issue. The impostor claimed to be seeking a place to join a lottery committee that would supposedly award prizes. A second fraudster then appeared to corroborate that the recipient had earned a fraction of the supposed prize, creating a convincing front. This staged scenario made the victims believe they were helping someone in need, prompting them to part with significant amounts of cash and jewelry in exchange for a promised share of a larger prize.
As the ruse progressed, the criminals escorted the victims to banks and later to their own homes to collect cash and jewelry. When the money and valuables were handed over, the perpetrators disappeared into public spaces, leaving the victims with only a fraction of what had been promised. The fraud did not occur in isolation; other individuals were present during the incidents to provide cover and ensure the con was carried out successfully.
The alleged perpetrators are described as a traveling family clan that has been identified by investigators as operating across national borders. After locating the suspects in Móstoles, police carried out arrests, detaining four men and one woman. All five suspects are Spanish citizens aged between 20 and 61. The case remains under investigation as authorities work to determine the full extent of the clan’s activities across the country and to assess whether additional victims may come forward. [Police statement / Official records].