Brits arrested on Costa Blanca suspected of tricking elderly pensioner into handing over thousands of pounds

Three British nationals have been arrested on suspicion of isolating a UK pensioner from her own family and tricking her into handing over thousands of pounds to them and changing her will.

Earlier this month fraudster Pamela Gwinnett was jailed for raiding 300,000 pounds from the life savings of vulnerable OAP Joan Green before fleeing to Tenerife.

This Monday a similar horror story emerged from Spain’s Costa Blanca as police revealed the arrests and the campaign of manipulation a 91-year-old British expat had been subjected to.

Police said the suspects had installed cameras to control their victim’s movements and keep checks on the people who entered and left her home, changed the locks, retained her passport and blocked family and friend telephone contacts.

Their tactics also included redirecting the pensioner’s bank and personal correspondence to an external mailbox they controlled and placing their own photos throughout the woman’s home in the resort town of Calpe to try to "psychologically condition" her.

Police estimate they plundered around 17,000 pounds from the OAP’s bank accounts by taking her to make regular cash withdrawals.

To change her will, detectives say they tricked her into thinking she was signing documents to accept her late husband’s inheritance.

In a repeat of the Pamela Gwinnett case the woman’s concerned family contacted police who started investigating the Brits arrested, who have been accused of acting as part of a criminal gang.

In a lengthy statement released today, the Guardia Civil in Alicante said: “The Guardia Civil has arrested three people in Calpe, two men aged 64 and 67 and a 62-year-old woman, for their alleged involvement in a criminal group that allegedly subjected a 91-year-old woman for months to a system of isolation, control and manipulation with the aim of taking possession of her assets.

“The victim was selected because of her high purchasing power and because she lived alone in Spain.

“The investigation, carried out by officers from the Guardia Civil Investigation Unit in Calpe as part of Operation Confide, began following a complaint filed by the victim's children, who alerted authorities to the progressive isolation to which their mother was being subjected and to the influence several people were exerting over her.

“The inquiries uncovered a modus operandi structured in several phases, aimed at progressively controlling the victim and obtaining both her money and access to her assets.

“In a first phase, the now-arrested individuals allegedly proceeded to isolate the woman from her surroundings, taking advantage of the fact that she lived alone in Spain and that her relatives lived abroad.

“To this end, they changed the locks on her home, withheld her passport and blocked the telephone contacts of relatives and friends.

“They also allegedly installed a video surveillance camera in the common areas of the building, aimed at the door of her home, with the objective of monitoring the visitors she received.

“In addition, they redirected the victim's bank and personal correspondence to an external mailbox controlled by the group, preventing her from knowing about her financial and personal affairs.

“As part of this control mechanism, the now-arrested individuals placed their own photographs throughout the elderly woman's home, an action that investigators believe may have been used to psychologically condition the victim and reinforce a false image of an emotional bond and of these people's importance in her life.

“Under this constant control, the suspects systematically accompanied the woman to different bank branches to make periodic cash withdrawals.

“This circumstance caught the attention of her acquaintances, since the victim had her bills paid by direct debit and usually made payments by bank card, so there did not appear to be any need that would justify the continued withdrawal of such amounts of cash.

“Investigators estimate that the economic plundering would have amounted to approximately 20,000 euros over a short period of time.

The police force added in a statement: “The investigation has also revealed that the group had managed to get the victim to modify the provisions of her will in favor of the suspects.

“Due to the woman's cognitive decline, the detainees deceived her into believing that she had to sign the acceptance of her husband's inheritance, when in reality she was signing documents intended to include the suspects among her final wishes. This situation has already been reversed.

“Finally, due to the considerable assets the victim also owns abroad, the group allegedly went so far as to attempt to move her out of the country with the intention of continuing to exercise control over her and being able to dispose of her assets, continuing the control they exercised over her.

“The three detainees are being investigated on suspicion of aggravated fraud, coercion, disclosure of secrets, harassment and membership of a criminal group.

“They have been placed at the disposal of the Investigating Section of the Court of Instance of Denia, which has ordered their release subject to precautionary measures for all of them, with a restraining and no-contact order regarding the victim to ensure her protection.”

Guardia Civil sources confirmed today both the alleged victim and the three people held are British. None have been named.

One said: “They managed to get close to her initially by offering to care for her. That’s how they got their foothold.”

Last month shameless fraudster Pamela Gwinett was arrested in Tenerife after tricking victim Joan Green into handing over control of her finances by pretending to act as her carer and isolating the OAP from her family.

The 62-year-old used the money on Botox treatments, a 22,250-pound car, expensive meals and mortgages for properties she owned while keeping her retired accountant victim like a caged animal at her home in Chorley, Lancashire.

After the pensioner’s November 2022 death, she fled to Tenerife while awaiting trial for theft and fraud.

She has now been extradited to the UK to start a prison sentence of six years she received in her absence last October at Preston Crown Court.

She was sentenced to an extra two months in jail after being flown back to Britain.