Woman empties an elderly man’s bank account and sets his house on fire to destroy evidence in Valencia, Spain

A 46-year-old woman emptied a bank account of an elderly man living alone in Picassent and then set his house on fire to try to cover up any evidence of his crime.

The fraudster posed as the man’s wife to get hold of a debit card that he used 20 times over several months at ATMs to empty the bank account worth €4,227.

In January, the 70-year-old victim realized something was wrong and complained about missing money that had left him in dire financial straits.

The Civil Guard identified the suspect by contacting the bank to find out the times and details of the withdrawals and which ATMs were used.

They compared them to ATM security videos to see who was making the illegal withdrawals.

The woman had occasional access to the man’s home and after realizing her scam had been exposed, she entered the property and started a fire to destroy his bank documents.

Some of those papers were not damaged and she was arrested and charged with arson and fraud.

The old man’s problems did not end with his arrest, since a few days later his relatives discovered an unlicensed shotgun in a closet while they were cleaning the room affected by the fire.

They reported the finding to the Civil Guard, which is now investigating the 70-year-old man for illegal possession of a weapon.