Officers of the National Police have arrested a 53-year-old man in the Alicante city of Benidorm who had reported the theft of his mobile phone through violence or intimidation. In reality, the events had not occurred in such a way, and his intention was to claim compensation from his insurance to replace the reported item.
The alleged victim stated in the report that he had been assaulted by a man who, 'at knifepoint,' had stolen his high-end mobile phone, valued at 1,379 euros. After filing the report, he claimed compensation from his insurance, as he had a policy that covered this type of theft.
The officers in charge of the case began investigations to clarify the facts and summoned the complainant to provide further information. There, the complainant confessed that the events had not occurred as he had stated, but that he had left the phone at a friend's house, who later returned it to him.
Despite having recovered the phone, he processed the insurance claim, which involved committing a new crime, attempted fraud, in addition to the crime of simulating a crime. For all these reasons, the officers arrested him as the alleged perpetrator of a crime of simulating a crime and another of attempted fraud.
“"Reporting an event that has not actually occurred, or a crime different from what happened, constitutes a crime of simulating a crime, to which a crime of fraud can be added due to the subsequent insurance claim."
The National Police reminds citizens that reporting false events or events different from what occurred can lead to the arrest of the complainant and the generation of a criminal record, with the associated legal consequences.
