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Date Published: 14/10/2021
ARCHIVED - Trampolin Hills fraudsters could be facing seven years in a Murcia jail
The developers conned around a dozen British buyers into unwittingly taking out a mortgage loan for their Murcia properties
The two property promoters who stand accused of fraud charges for the Trampolín Hills development scandal, in which around a dozen non-Spanish buyers ended up thousands in debt, both insist that they are not guilty.
Back in 2005, around 1,800 families, including a large number of British, French and Finnish purchasers, were attracted by the plans for a modern development including a golf course close to the capital of the Region of Murcia, but most of the homes were never built.
In addition, fourteen of these buyers unknowingly acquired debts of over 100,000 euros, after being led to believe that their new dream homes were “free of charges”. They became aware of their mortgages, with the CAM bank, only after receiving the keys to their houses and have been fighting to recover their losses ever since.
Almost two decades later, the two property promoters, Antonio Martínez and Rafael Aguilera, are still battling fraud, misrepresentation and misappropriation charges in court, with both men insisting that the other is the guilty party.
As it stands, both Mr Martínez and Mr Aguilera are facing seven years in jail, despite the fact that they were previously offered a plea deal which would have reduced their jail time to just two years. However, their decision to stubbornly plead not guilty and blame each other has meant that the courts will push for a harsher sentence.
Image: Archive / Trampolín Hills
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