26 couples denounce for alleged fraud at a wedding restaurant

A total of 26 affected couples due to the sudden closure of restaurant “Btakora” of Arenys de Mar (Barcelona) They have filed a complaint against the owner of the premises, whom they accuse of having allegedly cheated about 200,000 euros that they paid without having been able to celebrate their respective commitments.

The complaint, presented before the Barcelona examining courts by the Roca Asociados office and to which Efe has had access, is directed against the business owner, the administrator, the accountant, the attorney-in-fact and two bank account holders where the victims allegedly made transfers, as well as against the two companies that operated the business.

The 52 people affected accuse them of a crime of continued fraud with double aggravation – the defrauded value exceeds 50,000 euros and affects a large number of people and for taking advantage of the credibility of the company -, so they could face penalties of between one and six years in prison, or alternatively, a crime of misappropriation also aggravated.

Refund plus compensation

They have thus asked the judge to investigate the owner, Paulo, who remains unaccounted for since the restaurant closed its doors last July, and his partners and demand that they be imposed a compensation of 150,000 euros, in addition to the refund of the 200,000 euros paid by all the victims.

According to the complaint, the defendants “concocted a fraudulent scheme to capture provisions of funds from couples who wished to marry in their facilities, both for their own benefit, and for the payment of other expenses not related to the aforementioned weddings, weddings that they never came to pass. “

These are couples who planned to marry throughout 2020 but who, a few weeks or days in advance, were urged to change the date of the ceremony citing reasons related to the pandemic, such as the confinement of workers. During all this time, the company continued to collect invoices for various concepts, such as the reservation of the new date or the catering test, knowing that the ceremony would never take place, since “they never made any preparations,” according to the accusation.

“Tricks and threats”

“To date, more than 52 people have been forced to pay for a wedding that was not going to take place, they have been deceived, threatened and abused from an absolutely disproportionate position, they have been delayed leading to despair. And this, while those responsible have all their money, money they invested in the day that was going to be the happiest of their lives, and not the real nightmare in which they are immersed, “the complaint underlines.

The victims claim that they paid for “fear” of losing what was already invested and after “multiple deceptions and threats”, especially in those cases in which they requested the termination of the contract for not agreeing with a clause according to which they agreed to lose their money if the wedding could not be held due to “force majeure”.

After the closure of the restaurant, most couples have not been able to marry for financial reasons, such as François and Elisabeth, who have asked that “justice be done.” As he has told Efe, the owner of the restaurant would have promised them that “an alleged investor” would keep the business and return the money, which has never happened, to the point that one day, when contacting the accused He replied that “he did not remember or know who he was” although they claim to have paid him more than 14,000 euros for the wedding preparations.

Still operational

“It had to be a day of illusion (…). For a long time we had saved, the families have helped us to get to that day and the disappointment is total. All I ask is a little sensitivity in demanding justice, at least, of the money that they have taken from us, because the rest is lost, “he lamented.

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For her part, the lawyer representing the victims, Laura Pérez, has warned that both the company’s contact telephone number and the emails and the website are still “operational and offering services”: “It is not that they have been scammed of continuously, but they intend to continue doing so, “he stressed.

And although he has pointed out that “in the criminal and civil jurisdiction there is always the possibility of reaching an agreement,” he also recalled that the victims have tried to recover their money without going to justice “for months and in all ways”, despite to which they have not yet achieved the return of the respective amounts paid. “This situation does not obey any type of logic”, has settled.