Three British nationals arrested after allegedly isolating and defrauding a 91-year-old expat in Calpe
The suspects changed the locks, withheld her passport and tricked her into rewriting her will, before police stepped in under Operation Confide
A 91-year-old British woman living alone in the Costa Blanca resort of Calpe was subjected to months of calculated isolation, psychological manipulation and financial exploitation by three people who had initially offered to care for her. All three, two men aged 64 and 67 and a 62-year-old woman, have now been arrested by the Guardia Civil.The investigation, carried out by officers from the Guardia Civil's Investigation Unit in Calpe under Operation Confide, was launched after the victim's family raised the alarm. As one Guardia Civil source put it: "They managed to get close to her initially by offering to care for her. That's how they got their foothold."
What followed was methodical and deeply disturbing. The suspects changed the locks on the woman's home, retained her passport and cut off her telephone contact with family and friends. They installed a video surveillance camera in the communal areas of her building, trained on her front door, to monitor who came and went. Her post, including bank correspondence, was quietly redirected to an external mailbox the group controlled, keeping her in the dark about her own finances. They even placed their own photographs around her home, something investigators believe was intended to psychologically condition her and reinforce a false sense of emotional attachment.
Under this tightly controlled environment, the suspects began accompanying her to bank branches for regular cash withdrawals. The pattern raised suspicions among acquaintances, since the woman's bills were paid by direct debit and she had no obvious need for repeated large cash withdrawals. Investigators estimate she lost around €20,000 in a relatively short period.
The group also managed to have her will altered in their favour. According to investigators, they deceived her into believing she was signing documents related to her late husband's inheritance. That change has since been reversed.
There were also attempts to move the woman out of Spain entirely, reportedly to access assets she held abroad.
The three suspects now face charges of aggravated fraud, coercion, disclosure of secrets, harassment and membership of a criminal group. A court in Denia has released them subject to strict precautionary measures, including a full restraining and no-contact order to protect the victim.
Image: Guardia Civil
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