ANIMAL 'HELPERS' HELPED THEMSELVES
Heartless tricksters swindle pet shelters to fund lavish lifestyle
By Samantha Kett ANIMAL-LOVERS and pet shelters have been cruelly duped by a pair who pocketed over €300,000 in donations to feed rescued dogs and cats and spent it on living the high life.
The Spaniards - a 41-year-old woman and a man aged 58 - even convinced shelters in the Marina Alta to sign joint fundraising agreements with them, using their names and good reputations to swindle cash out of the unwitting public.
Collection boxes in hundreds of shops, whip-rounds, 'charity events', and handouts from over 300 local businesses amassed a six-figure sum over two years, none of which went towards caring for neglected or mistreated animals.
In fact, the arrested man bragged about being a wealthy self-made business tycoon on the back of his charity plundering.
He and his 'right-hand woman' signed deals with legitimate animal shelters and even town councils, ostensibly to combine all their fundraising efforts into one and make a bigger impact.
Pet shelter donations 'trebled'
Over Christmas, a well-known Déniabased charity joined forces with the crooks and was delighted at first when donations to its cause trebled overnight – but became suspicious when it never received a cent of the funds raised.
The owner of a pet shop, and several shelters in the Dénia area, asked to see the fake charity's paperwork after they realised that in two years of working with them, they had not received any money for their animals.
But the man absconded and every time shelter volunteers contacted the organisation, the woman claimed he was in hospital – although never stated which, or why.
In the end, the shop owner and shelters went to the Guardia Civil in El Verger.
Not the first time
A lengthy probe revealed the 'missing' man had been using a false name for 10 years, had run similar heartless scams all over Spain and was wanted by a court in Barcelona.
His 'charity' was not registered as such, nor as a business, and none of his six or so volunteers had job contracts, say police.
He was eventually traced to Alcoy and his house raided.
The woman was still living in Dénia, but visited him regularly in Alcoy.
Both of them were leading a life of luxury and indulging their expensive tastes at homeless animals' cost.
Police have not revealed the name of the so-called charity, but it is expected that many local pet homes and their volunteers will know who they are due to having become victims of their evil scam.