The Guardia Civil Main Post in Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria, on January 25 launched an investigation into the activities of a foreign tourist with initials HB, aged 47 years and without prior police records, suspected of simulating a crime, by faking and reporting an alleged €8,300 scam supposedly perpetrated against his account associated with a charge card he owned, in order to try to get the bank to return the money to him.
The investigation began following a complaint from H.B. on January 23 to Guardia Civil in Puerto Rico, reporting that he had been partying with a friend in the Puerto Rico area and that two women had invited them to the nightspot in question, where they had a drink together after which he could not remember anything else, suspecting that they had put some stupefying substance in his drink, according to his report, he realised the next morning that they had made various charges to his account amounting to €8,300.
However, the investigators had their suspicions raised over the complainant’s version, confirming their doubts once they had obtaining video recordings, statements from several witnesses and made other enquiries, which indicated that H.B. had on the night in question frequented several establishments or hostess clubs, spending the large quantities of money on an apparently voluntary basis.
Guardia Civil investigators therefore opened a file on H.B. as the alleged perpetrator of crime simulation, a serious offence, placing the holiday maker at the disposal of the corresponding courts, in the nearby town of Maspalomas.
Penalties for the simulation of crime
It should be noted that the simulation of a crime can lead to penalties ranging from 6 months to 2 years in prison, or hefty fines, depending on the level of seriousness of the falsification and false accusations against third parties.
This type of complaint also causes serious damage to police units that receive them, since they cause a series of personnel, time and material resources to be consumed, considerably affecting the normal development of investigations in to actual crimes and real events.
