Posted on Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 9:31 p.m.
Five individuals of French nationality were arrested for theft by ruse after having simulated clashes with elderly people in order to extract money from them, the prosecutor’s office of Namur said on Thursday. Sixty victims were identified throughout Wallonia for a total loss of more than 150,000 euros.
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The victims were spotted in parking lots or on the public highway. An accident was then simulated between their vehicle and that of the thugs, who accused them of responsibility. To make their story more plausible, the latter did not hesitate to strike the bodies of the targeted vehicles. An amicable settlement was then offered to the elderly. The thieves even went so far as to contact a supposed broker by telephone so that this solution was preferred to a conventional finding.
In a panic, the victims were asked to receive immediate cash payment, which could amount to several hundred euros. The thugs even accompanied some people to their homes or to an ATM. The prosecution also evokes fraud with the bank card or tracking for future burglaries. In addition, the thieves went to their victim’s home several times a few days after the incident, claiming that the amount of compensation was higher than expected.
“Their ploy relied heavily on the gullibility and frailty of the victims,” said the federal judicial police (PJF) of Namur, in charge of the investigation. “Many probably did not file a complaint and the damage could therefore be much higher than 150,000 euros. “
Four suspects were arrested in mid-February in Toulouse and extradited to Belgium. A fifth was arrested in the process by the PJF of Namur. Four arrest warrants have been issued and renewed, one individual has been placed in preventive detention and two others are still wanted.
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