Alex Trelinski
FOREIGN migrants were charged up to €4,000 to hood-wink authorities into believing they were in a common-law relationship with a Spanish woman.
The Costa Blanca-based scam used an Alfaz del Pi address for all registrations.
The Policia Nacional have arrested eight people including three non-Spaniards who shelled out cash for a civil union certificate.
- Crooked lawyer ran Costa Blanca ‘marriage of convenience’ scam for non-Spaniards to get residency
- Priest avoids jail time after approving marriages of convenience in Costa Blanca and Murcia areas of Spain
- Exposed: How a gang paid Spanish women to marry foreign expats in bid to gain them residency
- Police bust ‘arranged’ wedding scheme for non-Spaniards to get residency status in the Valencian Community
Proof of such a union meant they were in line for a temporary residence visa, even though the relationships were bogus.
The ruse involved payers using addresses of Spanish citizens to get a certificate of registration.
That was then submitted to authorities for inclusion on their civil union listings as a ‘common-law’ couple.
The criminal operation came unstuck because they kept using the same Alfaz del Pi address.
Investigators discovered that two people registered there had submitted papers to get the civil union document.
Officers also found two other ‘couples’ had also used the same address.
Despite so many people apparently piling into the Alfaz property, just one person actually lived there.
The probe focused on three people led by the man who rented the house and a female recruiter who looked for women to become a bogus partner.
The third person was the one who contacted foreigners wanting residency.
The trio were arrested in Alicante, plus two of the fake Spanish ‘wives’.
