A FRAUDSTER used a fake ID card bearing a photograph of the actor Alec Baldwin to take out loans from banks in Oviedo (Asturias) which he had no intention of paying back, say National Police.
The accused was still walking the streets despite having been arrested four times since March for forgery and and fraud.
He made up a Spanish DNI (national identity document) using the details of random people he obtained online by publishing fake job offers, and a photograph of the famous North American film star – the father of Kim Basinger's daughter Ireland.
Subtle changes to the picture from bank to bank meant the accused could pass for the picture on his multiple cards if he had to go to a branch in person, and personal details of other people meant the lenders had a legitimate number, name and address each time the crook showed his ID.
Fake payslips and household bills were provided to get a series of small personal loans, which he had paid into accounts opened under assumed names, then withdrew the cash and vanished.
His landlord was said to be the one to raise the alarm after the accused used his ID number, which appeared on his rental contract.
The main person affected by the identity theft, the landlord called the police after getting a call from a residents' association asking him to finish off a job they had paid him in advance for by bank transfer, but of which he had no knowledge.
The landlord discovered several accounts were open in his name and immediately suspected his tenant, who has now been arrested for the fifth time in as many months.
Other victims are expected to be out there, and police have launched a full inquiry.
A MAN declared dead at his home in the province of Tarragona was on his way to the funeral parlour when he turned out to be alive, according to police sources.
A NEW child protection law named after a British musician living in Spain has been approved in Congress and is set to be signed off by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, June 8.
