The Seville police have dismantled a fraud network linked to illegal immigration and document forgery, arresting 145 people accused of supporting irregular migration and related crimes. Investigations show a web of fraudulent domestic partnerships and falsified employment contracts that enabled illicit activity and misused public resources.
According to the police, the investigation unfolded in two phases and involved close to one million euros in fraud. The authorities outlined a methodical process that started with a wide net of suspects and then narrowed to the core operators behind the scheme.
In the first phase, investigators identified and detained a criminal group that targeted the rights of foreign residents. The group allegedly promoted illegal immigration by creating and exploiting fake domestic partnerships and forged employment documents to help people obtain benefits they were not entitled to.
Further analysis revealed the existence of a fictitious company that had recruited nearly 180 individuals to siphon socioeconomic benefits from public administration programs and to secure bank loans, among other aims.
The investigation began in 2021 after police learned of two fraudulent family partnerships. This operation led to the arrest of eleven people and exposed a broader scheme that linked family arrangements to immigration fraud.
Among those detained were five women who agreed to act as official partners for five foreign men. They were arrested on charges including promoting illegal immigration and document forgery.
These women received financial compensation for entering into common-law partnerships, a move that enabled the men to pursue residence cards for family members who hold EU citizenship and to access various social and economic rights granted by public administration.
The second phase of the operation began in mid-2022, when authorities uncovered a second fictitious company with a registered office in La Rinconada, a town near Seville. The firm purportedly offered fraudulent employment contracts designed to recruit workers for the purpose of obtaining socio-economic benefits from public programs, as well as prison benefits and bank loan access, all while smoothing the administrative status of foreign nationals in Spain.
The sole director of the fake company, along with 134 alleged employees, were arrested during this phase, a move that implicated numerous supposed staff members in the scheme.
According to the investigation, the total amount defrauded from public coffers reached approximately 924,000 euros. Some of the funds have already been returned to the relevant authorities as the case proceeds through the judicial process.
The detainees were released pending trial by the court handling the case as proceedings continue and further details surface in ongoing judicial review.