Striker Marco Pérez was ready for anything to travel to Saudi Arabia in 2020 and join the squad of Al-Raed Saudi FC, with which he signed several seasons contracts. He only needed to sell the Chevrolet Traverse, which he bought for 180 million pesos.
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A few days after the trip and still playing for Deportes Tolima, A buyer appeared who paid him the 60 million pesos that the player paid for the truck.and promised to take care of the bank with any fees required.
A teammate was the one who contacted him with the dealership and assured him he was selling a Mazda CX5. At 70 million pesos it is flawless, but around 150 million pesos on the market.
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Months later, Marco Pérez learned from the bank that the car installments had not been paid. Even when he was in Colombia and now in the team of Águilas Doradas, he had to afford some subscriptions.. The last thing he heard from the buyer was that he sent himself a positive covid test in January and disappeared.
EL TIEMPO investigated and detected The man holding the luxury truck is Norman Eduardo Serrano Sanmiguel.Introducing himself as an operator and litigator in the field of civil and family law.
And they offered vans through a page on Instagram Dodge Ram 1500 at 140 million pesos; BMW M340i at 130 million and Toyota Prado VX at 247 million pesos.
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They were marketed in cities such as Bogotá, Ibagué, Bucaramanga, Sincelejo, Manizales, Pereira, Barranquilla and Cali.
A motorcycle was also marketed It belonged to the logistics of the National Army and was sold privately.in the middle of a shot.
For the prosecutor in the case, Norman Serrano is a key part of a criminal organization that businessman Andrés Felipe Verú will be a part of.It is attributed to allegedly carrying money from Serrano, who is currently in a cell in Picaleña prison (Tolima) and is now placed under house arrest.
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“East offered 60 percent of market value because he said he bought high-quality vehicles from forensic auctions or banks stated that they were detained with bank pledge” and made the defense of at least 28 of those who see themselves as victims.
He added that it looks The network had access to at least two forensic parking lots, known as the terraces, from where it received the high-end cars. He sold them with the promise of taking hostages and arranging paperwork within three months. But that never happened.
Serrano’s customers also believe that Serrano has access to lists of instruments held by financial institutions with bank pledges.: “After handing over the money and using the vehicles for 90 days, the police or private individuals would have taken them away from us.”
But there are others that result in more problems. They took money from his savings to buy him a few cars and run the business and even brought him clients.including sergeants and captains. And now they have been accused of fraud.
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Investigators are investigating whether bank loans were also taken on behalf of third parties. the economic profile was raised so that payments would be approved. With this money, they bought the cars from the dealers they offered for sale.
EL TIEMPO was able to access the list of car buyers who declared themselves affected and identified it. There are three football players and businessmen, as well as many military and police officers. Even Sijín inspectors are taken aback by the fact that members of this agency are responsible for immobilizing cars; including a captain from the neighboring municipality of Bogotá.
EL TIEMPO has accessed videos of vehicle recovery operations, one of which was in a sanandresito in Bogota. that’s what you see One of the cops is covering his badge. In another, detention came into effect by a court order that turned out to be unfounded..
The vehicles were equipped with GPS, which made their location easy even when they were in the garage.
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Some of the victims said they had met Serrano through a captain who had been detained in another case.. And they add that one person is missing.
One month ago, This individual was mentioned at the trial, where Serrano was charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, aggravated fraud, and illegal issuance or transfer of checks..
According to the prosecutor’s statement It is the Colombian Venezuelan Jean Pierre Franco, who was nationalized in 2013. But investigators believe there is a lack of registration in public offices and notaries.
“Some transfers bear the stamp of the notaries, from which Serrano was received in VIP lounges. There they treated him with familiarity. However, the papers were never verified, ”said the defense of several victims.
Y On official platforms, it has not yet been disclosed how the history of the vehicles does not appear at the time of purchase.. But 24 hours later, the recordings appeared.
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Another of the players appearing on the affected list John William Grove.
TIME determined that Last week, the actor’s wife was removed from the 2020 Mazda CX5 truck that Serrano sold them..
And a month ago, at the indictment and security clearance hearing, Serrano Sanmiguel’s defense team assured that there was no conspiracy to commit a crime, and that his client had responded to some debts, investigation continues and his client is detained in the Ibagué prosecutor’s bunker.
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“We were warning you, don’t talk to anyone, you are looking for a stupid death, we will send you to your families in bags”. The concern is that threats like this reach victims and their defense as the investigation progresses.
EL TIEMPO contacted Norman Eduardo Serrano’s attorney to find out his version, but said he would consult his client to answer. He had not responded as of press time. However, he fixed his position at the accusations trial. He denied that Serrano belonged to a criminal organization and was a danger to society. In addition, he said that the accusing party did not specify their alleged role in supporting a conspiracy to commit a crime mentioned above—Serrano, Jean Pierre Franco and Andrés Verú.
“There are three people who work independently in similar or the same activity and earn a percentage from each negotiation,” the lawyer said. Moreover He denied that his client had benefited from the money paid by the parties alleged to have been affected. More than 1,600 million pesos were spoken at the trial, but the alleged victims speak more than 5,000 million. And he added that his client is willing to cooperate.
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Actually, He said he wanted to learn the names of the plaintiffs and talk to them. He even assured that payments were made, reconciliations were made, and that some vehicles would be pledged.. Those close to Verú also said that he had not committed any crime. The well-known fugitive Jean Pierre Franco has not been located.
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From Twitter: @uinvestigativa
Source: Exame
