The Civil Police of the Federal District (PCDF) launched an operation, on the morning of this Thursday (5), against a gang specialized in carrying out scams involving the rental of luxury properties in the capital of the Republic and whose main victims are judges recently sworn in at the Regional Labor Court (TRT).
The investigation conducted by the police station responsible for the central area of Brasília (5th DP) reports that 23 magistrates were identified as having been deceived by scammers with promises of advantageous, but false, real estate deals.
The investigations began last month, after several incidents were recorded by the judges. In August, many judges took office and moved to Brasília.
The main targets of the so-called Operation Delusio are two men aged 26 and 25. The suspects carried out the scams by presenting themselves as real estate agents and using a valid CNPJ to give a false impression of legitimacy.
According to the police, the loss is estimated at R$135 thousand.
The search and seizure warrants were served in two locations in the Federal District: Gama and Lago Sul. During the investigations, the freezing of R$266,000 of the suspects’ funds was requested to guarantee compensation to the victims.
The name of the operation “Delusio” refers to the illusion and deception promoted by the criminals.
“As the number of fake rental scams is increasing, we suggest that, before making any payment, the person confirms the information and whether the real estate agency is actually authorized to rent the property,” warns Welington Barros, the officer in charge of the case, CNN .
Step by step of the coup
The first scammer approached victims offering high-end properties in a luxury condominium on the shores of Lake Paranoá in Brasília.
The suspect offered rental contracts with values between R$4,700 and R$5,500 for temporary stays, requesting personal documents from the victims to draw up the contracts and receiving the agreed amounts before the occupancy date.
Once the first victims signed the contract, police say the scammer took advantage of the situation to expand the fraud by recommending his services to other newly appointed judges through WhatsApp groups.
Upon arriving at the condominium, the victims discovered that the properties were already occupied or had never been available for rent.
When questioned, the scammer claimed to have been the victim of a scam himself, promising to cancel the contracts and refund the amounts paid, which never happened. He subsequently cut off all contact with the victims, and the investigation began.
This content was originally published in Judges are victims of scams in the Federal District and suspects are targets of operation on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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