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ARCHIVED - Brits reach settlement deal with Murcia property scammers after 17 years
The developers have narrowly avoided prison sentences after selling homes in El Valle de Sol on land that they didn’t own
After almost two decades, several British citizens who were conned into buying useless plots of land in Murcia have been dealt a kind of justice, as five despicable property developers have been ordered by a court to pay out large amounts of compensation for selling land that didn’t belong to them.
The saga dates back to 2005 and 2006, when residential properties were built on plots in El Valle del Sol without the express permission of the land owner. The homes, constructed in the Murcia district of Gea and Truyols, were then sold on to unsuspecting British buyers.
Back in April this year, the five property developers were eventually forced to face a judge, but have this week entered a guilty plea and reached a deal with the Prosecutor’s Office, avoiding the proposed prison sentence of between six and nine months.
Instead, the fraud charges will result in fines ranging from 710 euros to 1,800 euros, and the ten affected Britons will receive compensation of 10,000 each. The guilty parties will also have to pay another 20,000 euros in administration and legal fees.
The court heard that, between 2002 and 2006, the defendants launched an extensive advertising campaign, promoting the exclusive new housing development in the Valle del Sol area, even though they were fully aware the land was classed as rural and shouldn’t have been built upon.
Despite this, the houses went up and the Urban Planning Department began to initiate sanctioning proceedings against the illegal development, imposing fines in some cases and ordering full demolition in others. The rightful owner of the land also granted the right to recover his plots by a Murcia court back in 2006.
The scammers, who were initially looking at up to six years in prison for their deception, have narrowly escaped time behind bars, while the Britons have eventually received some financial compensation for their ordeal.
You might also be interested in: The British residents in Murcia who are forced to live without water or electricity
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