A pair of repeat offenders who escaped justice have been arrested in Torrevieja, accused of 49 counts of fraud across Spain.

Torrevieja, Alicante. December 9, 2025 — Guardia Civil agents in Torrevieja, Alicante, arrested a man and woman, presumably a couple, accused of 49 counts of fraud and four counts of identity theft. They had killed at least 53 people from various provinces across Spain. Both men were wanted and had over 60 outstanding warrants, including numerous search, arrest, and appearance orders.

The investigation began in April, when Guardia Civil agents in Torrevieja noticed an unusual spike in reports of rental fraud. All the complaints shared a common pattern: cash withdrawals were made from ATMs in the municipality.

The criminal couple, who had lived in Torrevieja since 2022 and were allegedly involved in similar activities since 2015, operated according to a well-established scheme. They responded to online ads from people looking for rental accommodation, offering fictitious properties at reduced prices. To gain trust, they sent fake contracts, as well as personal documents and photographs of previous victims whose identities had been stolen.

Having gained trust, the scammers asked the victims to transfer payments using codes for cardless cash withdrawals through online banking and immediately withdrew the money from ATMs. The couple, aged 36 and 44, are accused of using the victims' personal information to contact new victims and register a large number of prepaid phone lines.

In November, after their location was established, their home was searched. Materials related to 25 phone lines, mobile phones, tablets, and other evidence were seized. As a result of the scammers' actions, victims from 31 provinces of Spain, in addition to financial losses, faced the compromise of their data, which led to them receiving subpoenas from courts and police across the country. The Torrevieja court ordered both detainees to be remanded in custody.