According to the Public Ministry of the Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DIAP) of Coimbra, the defendant has been charged with four counts of using someone else’s identification documents, three counts of document forgery, and one count of money laundering.
In this case, which was investigated by the Central Directorate of the Judiciary Police, charges of money laundering in co-authorship were also brought against three other defendants.
“In most situations, the main defendant deceived numerous victims by creating Facebook accounts. Initially, he used his real identity, but quickly moved to using other people’s identities to disguise the authorship of the crimes,” stated the DIAP of Coimbra on its website.
Using the false accounts and profiles, the defendant repeatedly advertised the sale of various goods on the Marketplace platform, which he did not own and, in some cases, had no intention of selling.
“Believing in the seriousness of the advertisement, interested parties would contact him by phone and via WhatsApp to finalize the deals. To add credibility to his alleged intent to sell, the accused even sent forged documents to strengthen the belief of his interlocutors that they were engaging in real buying and selling transactions.”
According to the Public Ministry, to facilitate payment for these alleged acquisitions, the defendant either indicated bank accounts held by the co-defendants, who provided them for this purpose, or supplied payment details, such as entity and reference, directing the funds to online gambling accounts he controlled, thus concealing the true origin and destination of the funds.
Most of the money received from victims was used by the main defendant for gambling at the Casinos of Figueira da Foz, Póvoa de Varzim, and Espinho, which he frequently visited, as well as for online gambling.
The Public Ministry is seeking the forfeiture of 232,000 euros in economic gains obtained by the main defendant to the State.
