We had to have a chuckle at this one. First off our inquirer was approached by the now exposed Lorenzo Agulia with a mirror image set of documents we published recently. The award in this case was for the sum of €21,738 as ordered by the Santa Cruz court in Tenerife. In the same week our caller received another court win, this time from a court in Madrid, the sum involved was a whopping €47,130. Now we were really perplexed as both awards were made because of a court case against the infamous Silverpoint, how is it possible for a court in Tenerife and a court in Madrid to try the same case and make entirely different awards? The answer is they can’t, and more importantly didn’t.
Even if the court case, note we use the singular, was real, which it’s definitely not, the defendants would not be tried in two separate courts for the same offence. As Silverpoint was based in Tenerife, then logic dictates that any hearing would be progressed there. Anyway, let’s stop pussy footing around and stop talking about court cases because there haven’t been any so this is all a scam.
Unfortunately, at this time of writing we can’t name and shame the new kids on the block, but what we can do is share the fake documentation with you as a warning.
Fake Documents
Back in 2004 a fabulous TV series was aired on the BBC called simply, Hustle. The lead character played by Adrian Lester was called Mickey Bricks, Mickey was a master in the art of fraud and scams. One thing for certain is that this bunch certainly didn’t attend the Mickey Bricks School of scamming. Whilst Lorenzo Aguila have gone to great lengths to perfect their scam, this bunch fall woefully short.
Let’s start with the supposed court document:
We can’t remember the last time we saw such a poor effort, go to the back of the class with a dunce’s hat on!
When are these scammers going to realise that no Spanish court ever produces documents in English, why would they? How many English courts produce documents in Spanish? None.
Note the address of the court, Calle Ventura Rodriguez 7; this is odd because that address in Madrid belongs to a health and safety at work office, not a court:
So if the court isn’t there, where is it? The address of the real court being Juzgado de Primera Instancia nº 11 is as follows:
Next we move on to the poor attempt at a convincer, this is in the form of a fake bankers draft:
Although this image is not too clear, the contact telephone number given is 663 88 44 00, this is a Spanish mobile number, how many courts use mobiles as a contact point? All telephone numbers beginning with 6 or 7 in Spain are mobiles, landlines always begin with 9. As revealed above, the real court telephone number being 91 493 27 22. Again not clear but the email address is shown as admin@madrid.justicia.es, the first point is that the font of Madrid is smaller than justicia, an afterthought maybe? The next important point is that the domain name doesn’t exist:
Again, as per above the real email address for the court is juzpriminstancia011madrid@madrid.org. The use of false information is obvious really because the scammers don’t want you calling or emailing the real court as that would blow the scam out of the water.
TCA comment
Isn’t this fun, two scammers having paid for stolen data for Silverpoint past or current owners then simultaneously attempting a similar scam on the same “mark”. Actually, it’s not fun at all, its criminal and attempted fraud. We once again need to remind readers of basic facts.
As we write there hasn’t been, and more importantly, it’s unlikely there will ever be court action against Silverpoint. Yes it’s true that the authorities are investigating the goings on at Silverpoint but as Silverpoint was just a very small cog in the enormous wheel that is the Limora Investment Group, difficulties lay ahead. This organisation comprises of over 130 companies many in tax havens and areas that have not signed into exchange of information treaties; the job of work is massive. Add into the mix that the Limora group itself has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York; this presents an even greater problem for the authorities.
So no court case, cold calling, unsolicited approaches, fake documentation, fake email addresses, mobile phone numbers all adds up to fraud. No court case equals no award. The only real profit is for those who are in possession of stolen data selling it to all and sundry, which with Silverpoint is exactly what has, and is still is happening.
- IF YOU ARE CONTACTED BY COLD CALL, BEWARE.
- IF THE FIRST YOU HEAR OF A COURT CASE IS AN AWARD, IT’S FAKE.
- IF A BREXIT FEE OR BREXIT TAX IS MENTIONED, IT’S FAKE.
- IF YOU RECEIVE COURT DOCUMENTS, THEY’RE FAKE.
- IF YOU RECEIVE SPANISH TAX FORMS, THEY’RE FAKE.
- IF YOU PAY THE SUPPOSED TAX, ITS MONEY LOST.
- BRITS SCAMMING BRITS, EXPECT NO HELP FROM THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk