MRE-Spain: Moroccans Scammed by Fake Work Contract Forgers
22 January 2009
Read by 1565 persons
Moroccans have been scammed by a network of forgers specializing in creating fake work contracts in Spain.
The Spanish Civil Guard arrested 11 people accused of forging work contracts for immigrants over the past three years. According to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, cited by the AFP agency, this gang allegedly scammed around 400 victims, mostly Moroccans.
The investigation began in December 2007 when the Spanish Civil Guard detected irregularities in certain contracts signed by contractors in the construction industry with immigrants of various nationalities.
The scammed immigrants were contacted in their home countries by intermediaries from the forgers' network. They paid sums ranging from 6,000 to 10,000 euros per work contract. Once in Spain, they discovered they weren't hired. In some cases, they were forced to sign resignations from their fictitious jobs.
Those arrested, including three contractors of Spanish, Ecuadorian, and Moroccan nationality, had the victims sign documents, taking advantage of their language ignorance, to cover themselves in case of inspection by the contracting company. The network was dismantled in Segovia, in the center of the country. It had ramifications in eight other cities.
Separately, the Spanish National Police announced on Tuesday, June 17, the arrest of a 41-year-old Spanish citizen in El Ejido (South). He was accused of scamming a dozen Moroccan immigrants. He collected 90,000 euros in exchange for fake work contracts. The arrest followed a complaint filed by a Moroccan citizen who paid 9,000 euros to the Spanish forger to obtain a work contract for his brother in Morocco.
Published June 20, 2008
Posted online October 21, 2008
Yawatani
The Spanish Civil Guard arrested 11 people accused of forging work contracts for immigrants over the past three years. According to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, cited by the AFP agency, this gang allegedly scammed around 400 victims, mostly Moroccans.
The investigation began in December 2007 when the Spanish Civil Guard detected irregularities in certain contracts signed by contractors in the construction industry with immigrants of various nationalities.
The scammed immigrants were contacted in their home countries by intermediaries from the forgers' network. They paid sums ranging from 6,000 to 10,000 euros per work contract. Once in Spain, they discovered they weren't hired. In some cases, they were forced to sign resignations from their fictitious jobs.
Those arrested, including three contractors of Spanish, Ecuadorian, and Moroccan nationality, had the victims sign documents, taking advantage of their language ignorance, to cover themselves in case of inspection by the contracting company. The network was dismantled in Segovia, in the center of the country. It had ramifications in eight other cities.
Separately, the Spanish National Police announced on Tuesday, June 17, the arrest of a 41-year-old Spanish citizen in El Ejido (South). He was accused of scamming a dozen Moroccan immigrants. He collected 90,000 euros in exchange for fake work contracts. The arrest followed a complaint filed by a Moroccan citizen who paid 9,000 euros to the Spanish forger to obtain a work contract for his brother in Morocco.
Published June 20, 2008
Posted online October 21, 2008
Yawatani
