TURIN – 31 people defrauded online: two arrests

TURIN – The soldiers of the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Turin, coordinated by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office, arrested two people suspected of having committed, overall, 31 online scams to the detriment of as many customers, each for amounts of up to several hundred EUR.

The investigations, conducted by the Economic-Financial Police Unit of Turin, arose from the evidence collected during an anti-money laundering inspection of a money transfer company in the Piedmontese capital, during which numerous anomalous money sending operations were found. abroad, carried out by various subjects but in fact found to be attributable to one of the two people subjected to precautionary custody in prison (a seventy-year-old from Turin). The latter, in fact, made use of people in need who, for a fee, agreed to have their identity used to order the aforementioned operations, thus masking the real executor. This conduct was reported to the competent Judicial Authority as it was criminally relevant in relation to the crimes of impersonation and communication of false data and untruthful information for the purposes of the legislation on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering.

The subsequent investigative activities, also conducted through the in-depth analysis of reports of suspicious transactions and the movements of the prepaid cards used by the suspect to receive the money, revealed a systematic activity of carrying out online scams, in the majority of cases consisting of so-called “pellet scams”, for which the defrauded people had already filed specific complaints throughout the national territory.

The officers operating found, in particular, the reiteration by the suspect of the same modus operandi: the frauds began with the publication of sales advertisements via the Internet, on the main virtual marketplaces, which were followed by telephone negotiations which ended with the payment, in good faith, of sums of money by the defrauded customers, who only later realized that the object of the contract would never have been delivered to them. The suspect, to shield his illicit activity, systematically resorted to false personal details and the use of payment cards, banking relationships and utilities formally belonging to third parties, which the investigations then made it possible to link back to him.

The money credited by customers to the aforementioned cards was finally withdrawn directly by the suspect at bank and post office branches in Turin, as ascertained during targeted observation services conducted by the investigators.

On the basis of the elements collected, the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Turin ordered the execution of a search of the suspect’s home, during which the smartphones in use by him, prepaid cards and (in the name of third parties), bank documentation, cash for over 6,000 euros as well as a diary containing the telephone numbers of several people, who were found to be formally holders of the payment cards used by the suspect to channel the proceeds of his illicit activity . On the same occasion, fake 20 and 50 euro banknotes were found, with a total face value of 470 euros.

As a result of this activity, the circumstantial framework gathered against the suspect was further corroborated.

From the examination and investigative development of the chats stored in the phones subjected to seizure, the position of the second subject subjected to precautionary custody in prison emerged (a sixty-six year old from the province of Turin), in contact with the other person under investigation and found to also be addicted to the commission of online scams according to the same modus operandi.

The subsequent search of the relevant home made it possible to acquire circumstantial elements regarding his responsibility for the carrying out of 23 episodes of fraud in total, against as many victims, who came into contact with the suspect through advertisements published on the internet.

The operations of this second entity turned out to concern the (fraudulent) sale of goods and equipment of the most disparate nature (for example: an old “compact car”; tiles; spare parts and tools for cars, motorbikes, bicycles, marine engines and batteries acoustics; tennis rackets;

Without prejudice to the presumption of innocence until the responsibilities have been ascertained, the competent Judge for preliminary investigations at the Court of Turin, recognizing in the suspects serious indications of guilt, the tendency to commit crimes (as they are already burdened by numerous criminal proceedings ) as well as the risk of further fraudulent conduct, has adopted the aforementioned restrictive measures on personal freedom.

The activity carried out confirms the constant commitment of the Guardia di Finanza in combating crimes which, by polluting the correctness and transparency of the market, even virtual ones, cause damage to citizens/consumers, who are more exposed to the pitfalls inherent in web browsing.