Web Scammers Caught: They Sell Luxury Cars to Foreigners, Cash in and Disappear

They lured wealthy foreign clients online and "palmed off" them with fictitious vintage luxury vehicles, collecting large sums before disappearing. This was the modus operandi of a criminal conspiracy uncovered by the Carabinieri of the San Valentino Torio station. Pursuant to a precautionary measure issued by the investigating judge of Nocera Inferiore, this morning they banned a 66-year-old local man, already known for similar crimes, from residing in the entire Campania region. They also ordered his 25-year-old son to report to the police. They also remanded seven other suspects, all charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering.
The complex investigative activity, started in 2016 following the complaint filed by one of the defrauded foreigners and coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Nocera, allowed to – ascertain the existence of a conspiracy aimed at fraudulent sales of vintage and luxury vehicles of which the suspects did not have real availability; trace the organizational chart of the association and identify the role covered by each of the suspects; document the responsibilities of the suspects in relation to the commission of 12 frauds for a total damage of approximately one million Euro; prevent the commission of a further 2 frauds for a potential damage of approximately 300.000 Euro.
The mind and leader of the association was found to be the 66-year-old who, with the cooperation of other accomplices to whom he assigned roles from time to time, had skillfully devised real organizational arrangements suitable for gaining the trust and good faith of the victims whom he invited to Italy even in suggestive locations in the south, offering them the purchase of dreams on four wheels. The extent of the illicit phenomenon, in addition to the enormous volume of business reconstructed by the Carabinieri, had also been stigmatized by a group created on the popular social network Facebook created by the victims, mostly of French and German origin, through which they were warned not to give in to the 66-year-old's boasting. The brilliant operating result was further enhanced, as per now consolidated practice in the new course of action of the Prosecutor's Office, by the great work carried out on the front of asset assessments that allowed full light to be shed on the profitability of the trafficking carried out by the group.
In fact, the military personnel of the Arma have meticulously scrutinized income and assets, allowing the investigators to request and obtain a preventive seizure order for approximately 300.000 Euros deposited in current accounts attributable to the availability of the 66-year-old, in addition to a gym, owned by the young 25-year-old, which was found to be entirely financed with the proceeds of criminal activities.