Police in Madrid arrest caregiver who emptied pensioner’s bank account

THE National Police in Madrid has arrested a domestic worker who, when the elderly man she cared for died from coronavirus, emptied more than €35,000 from his account and used his bank card for purchases online.

As reported by Andalucia Informacion, the pensioner’s family denounced the fraudulent transactions from the bank account of their relative, who had died in March 2020, in the middle of May of this year. The fraudulent purchases were made between the months of March and September 2020, which was when the funds ran out. The complaint was filed so late because the old man’s accounts were blocked by the delays that were generated by the situation of the pandemic, police sources have informed.

The researchers found that the card charges came mostly from purchases on the Internet and that all kinds of appliances, furniture and food had been purchased. The investigations targeted a 45-year-old Spanish woman of Ecuadorian origin who had cared for this person for a long period of time, which facilitated her access to the bank card. In addition, officers verified that both the food orders and the products purchased were delivered to the home of the investigated individual.

The woman was arrested and acknowledged the facts in her statement before the investigators of the Judicial Police Group of the San Blas District Police Station in Madrid. The detainee was brought before the judicial authority as the alleged perpetrator of a crime of fraud. In the search of her home, the police found a total of 103 stored products in a room, including beds, televisions, electric scooters, household appliances, computers, jewellery and phones, among other items.