Gang Member's Mom Poses as Owner in Land Fraud Caper

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 11 September 2020)

               A mom will do anything for a son...

Police in Istanbul have foiled a remarkable fraud attempt involving

land deeds.  The gang planned to acquire three plots in Arnavutköy,

one of whose owners is G.E., an 82-year-old woman living abroad. 

To accomplish the fraud, one of the gang member's mothers posed as

G.E. (!).

The gang, led by one R.C., wanted to have G.E.'s Arnavutköy plot,

worth 25 million TL (about $3.5 million) transferred to a gang 

member, so the member's 150,000 TL tax debt and a 120,000 TL 

social security debt were paid to clear the way for the gang member

to have the land transferred to his name.    

                                     "G.E."- Z.U.

The gang member and "G.E." - actually another gang member's 

mother Z.U. - went to the land deed office in Başakşehir to finalize

the transfer.  This would have been the last step in acquiring the

25-million TL-valued land, for which the gang had already spent 

500,000 to set up the fraud.  

However (!), as the suspects - the gang member and Z.U. - signed

on the dotted line in the "akit odası" (contract room at the land deed

office), police nabbed them.  Simultaneous raids on other gang 

members elsewhere resulted in 16 people being taken into custody,

three of them lawyers.   

                              Arnatvutköy is at upper left.