At the commencement of a trial in the Coimbra Court, a 41-year-old man, who is currently serving another prison sentence, chose not to testify in a case where he is accused of committing 16 crimes of fraud, five of which were allegedly carried out with an unidentified accomplice. These incidents took place in various locations within the Coimbra district between January 2020 and June 2021, targeting elderly individuals to steal gold pieces.
During the session, several victims of the fraud were heard, including a retired woman from a locality in the municipality of Coimbra. She had previously identified the defendant to the Polícia Judiciária and reaffirmed his identity in court.
“It’s that gentleman,” she said, pointing to the defendant and noting that at the time of the crime, “he didn’t have long hair.”
According to the witness, the defendant approached her in a green van, claiming he had opened a jewelry store in Coimbra, and offered her “a small box to give to friends.”
The woman mistook him for an acquaintance and recounted that the man had asked her for “some old medals to take pictures.”
At one point, she handed the defendant a necklace she was wearing. With the gold piece in his possession, the man left, prompting the victim to shout that “he was a thief.”
According to the victim, another man, noticing her distress, managed to record the vehicle’s registration number.
Another witness from Cantanhede could not confirm the identity of the defendant but recounted a similar encounter. The defendant drove a green car, claimed to be a nephew living abroad, and said he was opening a jewelry store, asking for a ring to photograph.
A man from Soure also testified that the defendant pretended to be a nephew and spoke of opening a jewelry store in Soure.
“I fell for it,” he said.
Trusting the defendant, his wife went home to fetch rings, a necklace, and some gold pieces for the defendant to photograph.
“He started photographing the gold in the van, then said he had no cell signal and had to leave. That’s when I realized it was a scam, and that he had stolen the gold,” the scam victim explained to the court.
In the morning session, a witness who noticed one of the victims chasing the car in distress also recorded the vehicle’s license plate.
According to the indictment, the defendant, originally from Alentejo, allegedly approached victims in public places, especially when they were alone, and convinced them he was a relative or acquaintance of their friends or family members.
To gain the victims’ trust and credibility, he reportedly gathered prior information on the names of the victims’ friends and family, stated the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP).
The MP estimated that the defendant obtained approximately 20,000 euros worth of gold items overall.
The victims, aged between 68 and 80, came from localities in the municipalities of Cantanhede, Soure, Figueira da Foz, Coimbra, and Montemor-o-Velho.
The Public Prosecutor noted the defendant had previously been sentenced to six years and six months in prison in 2019 for committing six counts of fraud.
The alleged crimes occurred after his conviction while he was on the run.
