Francisco Gómez Manzanares, born in Vitoria in 1984, previously used the alias David as part of a web of deceit that spanned years and affected numerous victims. He enticed people with charm, then drained their finances and manipulated their emotions. In his hometown, his fraudulent life was exposed and he faced consequences for his actions.
The investigative report reconstructs a life built on lies, one that enabled him to amass nearly three million euros that did not belong to him. He forged a resume full of invented professions designed to fool others, claiming roles such as an Ertzaintza agent, a pilot, a Formula 1 tester, a Marine Rescue sergeant, and a member of a renowned football club coaching staff. The publication of this material also brought to light new testimonies about his final year in Vitoria, during which he took on a new identity and earned a reputation for years as a social strategist who exploited relationships. In 1999, Francisco used the name Fran and infiltrated a group of radio enthusiasts. Journalists contacted three members of that group to corroborate the story. The individual was known in the circle as the “Audi agent.”
Audi representative
During the spring of 1999, Francisco drove an Audi A4 and used it to extort an employee of a bank in San Sebastián. A radio device was installed in the vehicle. In the late 1990s, before widespread mobile phone use, amateur radio clubs were common. Francisco started a radio station in his ex-partner’s car and, after observing for a while, requested permission to attend a meeting. The group recalls that invitation with a tone of disbelief and memory that remains 23 years later.
He claimed to be an Ertzaintza officer and said he had just settled in Vitoria without knowing many people there. His friendliness and generosity left an impression, and he frequently paid for drinks. He appeared slightly older than the others in the group. He had no nickname, so they began calling him Audi because of the car model he drove, a reference tied to the A4 model he favored.
From the outset, Audi emerged as a quasi-leader within the circle. The trust he built became a defining feature, and each member would later recall how his influence affected group dynamics. The boxing bar that Francisco shared with his girlfriend, located on Beato Tomás de Zumárraga street and later abandoned after his misdeeds, became a regular meeting point by suggestion of the fraudster.
Chance
What he did not anticipate was that the boxing bar also drew the attention of an Ertzaintza commander. Francisco could not openly present himself as a Basque authority, so he navigated carefully to avoid any contact with the police chief. Yet his ambition pushed him to deepen ties with the command, and he eventually invited the commander to his home. The sole photo of Francisco in police attire was taken in the former chef’s uniform, and the image was used to undermine the whole affair rather than to prove a real connection.
In the years that followed the Vitoria case, Francisco became a target of women who were drawn in by conversation and later by dating practices. This phase of amateur radio may have served as a training ground for later online seduction. He placed a powerful antenna on the roof of his home to keep the station accessible from afar, but business partners later reclaimed the equipment after realizing it had never been paid for, removing it from the premises.
Fraud
Attempting to sell a residence that belonged to a girlfriend rather than himself, Francisco proposed starting another venture in mobile communications. The plan involved funding amounts of 1,100,000 pesetas for each participant, and one radio amateur contributed the money, which was then spent by Francisco on personal needs. A court later ruled that Francisco defrauded his girlfriend, the radio hobbyist who provided the funds, and two additional victims who believed they were participating in a legitimate investment and a potential purchase of a high-end computer in the United States.
Escape
In the summer of 1999, one of the radio enthusiasts began investigating Francisco after suspecting misconduct. At a shop where he had bought an antenna without paying, he left behind his DNI, which appeared on the invoice. Armed with this information, he approached the Ertzaintza commander who had occasionally frequented the boxing bar to share suspicions. The police, surprised by the extent of the deceit, sent Francisco’s DNI to fraud investigators from the pre-1999 period. The commander later acknowledged that he had unwittingly trusted the wrong person and had contributed to a flawed anti-drug operation based on information provided by the suspect.
The swindler was arrested soon after but was released days later and began a nomadic escape, moving between Barcelona, Castelldefels, Ourense, Madrid, Seville, Eibar, and Zaragoza. He remains incarcerated at Nanclares de la Oca prison, with sentences extending to 2030, though temporary release could be considered. He faced accusations from around 50 victims and caused harm to many more. While there is a pathway to rehabilitation, many victims fear the man will reoffend. Radio hobbyists in Vitoria never heard from him again.