Overview
- Lucas Pérez filed a formal complaint on 3 February after arranging private sales of a luxury car and personal items he valued at €340,000.
- At a closing meeting in Madrid’s Hotel AC Recoletos the buyers handed over €180,000 in genuine notes and a bag said to contain €160,000, and Pérez later discovered most of the cash was counterfeit.
- The Policía Nacional’s Grupo de Delitos Tecnológicos located and arrested two suspects, a French and a Belgian national, on 11 March at Hotel Suites Mirasierra; the men carried €50,000 they could not explain and were presented to a judge on estafa (fraud) charges.
- Investigators say the inquiry remains open, police have identified additional persons of interest and are probing whether the seized cash and other evidence link to further victims.
- The case illustrates the long‑standing 'rip‑deal' method—small real bills placed atop stacks of fakes to deceive sellers—which leaves private sellers exposed to major losses and often requires police and judicial action to trace funds.