The mastermind behind the largest real estate scam in Mallorca has been arrested in Barcelona after nine months on the run. Carlos García Roldán, sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role as the main person responsible in the largest scam investigated in Mallorca, was arrested by Civil Guard agents at his mother’s home, where he is believed to have taken refuge during this time.
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The arrest ends the search initiated by the Balearic Justice after García Roldán failed to appear at the Balearic Provincial Court to be notified of the sentence and comply with the prison admission order. The international arrest and imprisonment order was issued last December.
The judicial decision was conditioned by the flight risk perceived by the magistrates. The convict had already left Spain previously during the investigation of the case and even moved to Colombia, from which he had to be extradited to continue with the judicial process. This precedent led the Court to consider the measure necessary and proportionate given a sentence exceeding 14 years in prison.
His defense had argued that García Roldán was in Barcelona and had been unable to travel to Mallorca due to not finding a flight that would allow him to attend the court appointment. However, the courts did not find this explanation sufficient given the precedent of his leaving the country during the investigation.
The man was hiding at his mother’s home
García Roldán was convicted for the fraud committed through the real estate company Lujocasa, an operation that affected about 240 families, many of them foreigners. Buyers paid money to acquire homes that, in many cases, were never built.
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The sentence describes a company that was already in an extremely weak financial situation and yet launched around thirty real estate developments. According to the magistrates, Lujocasa had a negative net worth as early as 2016 and took on commitments whose economic volume did not correspond to its own resources nor to the financing it actually had.
The detainee embezzled more than three million through fraudulent operations
The court concluded that the company carried out massive money collection from buyers without having the necessary economic and legal means to fulfill the contracts. In some cases, it was not even the owner of the land on which it marketed the homes.
According to the sentence, there were also no new construction licenses nor sufficiently advanced administrative processing to support the promises made to clients about the imminent start of construction or the forthcoming obtaining of permits. The fraud allowed García Roldán to appropriate around 3.3 million euros. For nearly two years, he used part of that money to maintain a high standard of living, with expenses on casinos, jewelry, and luxury vehicles.
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