Woman arrested after extorting €430,000

A 52-year-old woman suspected of conning people out of over €400,000 by pretending to be a real estate agent was arrested and remanded for seven days, authorities said on Tuesday.

Complaints were filed against the woman, and during investigations police found that she had stolen €430,000 from various potential ‘clients’ when she pretended to be a real estate agent.

Police said that she had presented herself as an agent to four separate people in Limassol, looking to buy land or rent flats.

According to the evidence, the 52-year-old suspect allegedly between March 2022 and December 2023, deceived and extorted from a man, 81, a sum of money amounting to €416,500, after convincing him to invest in the purchase of two fields.

The suspect, according to the complaint filed last Tuesday by the 81-year-old and his 52-year-old relative, also deceived both of them and then extracted €11,983, after presenting herself as a real estate agent, indicating that she would help them to sell their privately owned piece of land.

This was followed this month by two more separate complaints to Limassol police, from men aged 31 and 54, from whom the 52-year-old suspect allegedly extracted a total amount of €3,100 for renting two apartments in Limassol.

The suspect allegedly extorted €1,600 from the 31-year-old last August for renting an apartment. The suspect convinced the 31-year-old by showing him photos of an apartment in Limassol.

From the 54-year-old man the suspect allegedly extorted €1,500 in September 2023 over renting an apartment.

The woman took the 54-year-old to the building and presented the apartment to him outside the building and never took him in to see it.

According the 54-year-old’s complaint, the woman was delaying his move into the apartment under pretexts, leading him to demand the return of his money, and in December he received in his bank account, a remittance of €500 from a bank account unknown to him.

She was arrested on Monday and taken to Limassol District Court, where she was remanded for seven days.