He supreme court has supported a judgment of the Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife which sentenced two men to four years in prison and to reimburse 141,000 euros to a doctor who was defrauded by both of them, one of whom was his close friend and trusted patient for many years. The friend advised the doctor to invest 135,000 euros from an inheritance in the purchase of 50% of the shares of a well in Tenerife, specifically in Arafo.
Both in the initial trial and now it has been confirmed that the friend, together with the other defendant and seller of the shares, deceived the doctor, represented by the lawyer Beatriz Fariña, assuring him that the exploitation generated benefits of approximately one million euros a year. .
Due to the Complete trust that the scammed had in his friend, he did not hesitate to make the investment without suspecting that both had colluded to deceive him.
The money was deposited in the hands of the owner of the shares, while the alleged friend and patient of the victim signed a contract in Seville on behalf of the doctor, a document that the latter never saw.
Soon after, they began to demand that the doctor pay 2,500 euros per month of which he was unaware, in addition to realizing that four million euros were required to carry out works and pay off debts, while the promised subsidies never arrived.
The buyer accepted a termination clause in the contract and the seller signed a promissory note for 135,000 euros that he was never able to collect, which generated additional expenses of 6,500 euros.
During the trial held in May 2021 at the Tenerife Court, the doctor stated that he felt cheated and that he had been convinced with reports and documents that strongly supported significant profitability.
However, when the first suspicions arose, the doctor spoke to the person who owned the other 50% of the shares, who was surprised by the investment, since he had never made a profit.
The Supreme Court considers it proven that the complainant was the victim of a “fraudulent machination” and that both convicts took advantage of the fact that the doctor did not have knowledge about wells to convince him to invest the money.
The friend declared at that time that he did not act as an intermediary, but simply put the victim in contact with the other convicted person, who was already in prison at that time for a similar crime. This argument has already been rejected by the High Court and now also by the Supreme Court.
The reality is that both scammers have six other convictions for fraud, misappropriation, traffic offenses and document forgery.
The seller claimed that he was unable to pay the note due to financial problems and that he sold the shares because he was in the gas station business and could not take care of the well. He assured that the documents presented to the buyer to convince him to invest the money were authentic and that the profitability of the exploitation was as promised.
At that time, the Prosecutor’s Office accused them of fraud and requested five years in prison, in addition to the return of 135,000 euros plus the 6,500 euros corresponding to the expenses generated by the return of the promissory note.
During the hearing, the complainant stated that he had been a friend of the convicted person since 2005, knew his wife, visited his office and had dinner together, so they had a great friendship that was not limited to the typical doctor-patient relationship.
When he received the inheritance, at first he thought of starting a car racing business and proposed to his friend to become partners, but the latter told him that the investment in the well was safer.
