A spectacular and highly deceptive luxury facade was employed by a criminal organization that was dismantled by the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime. Its members committed serial forgeries and fraud, while they are also accused of moral complicity in robbery and money laundering from criminal activities. The organization was dismantled on Thursday morning, November 13, 2025, in a coordinated operation by the Financial Crimes Unit in Loutraki, Patras and Attica. Five members were arrested –including the leader and deputy leader– with assistance from the Intelligence and Special Operations Directorate.
The gang’s fake investment schemes
Since 2023, the perpetrators identified financially well-off professionals and deceived them with a false investment opportunity in casinos, promising monthly returns of 10%–20%. The leader presented himself as a high-ranking casino executive, while meetings were held in luxury hotel suites for greater “persuasion.” There they offered prospective investors a display of… wealth: bundles of cash, gold bars, gold coins, precious stones. Some of this impressive material later proved to be of dubious authenticity, used exclusively as bait, while they also presented fake checks as supposed proof of their profits.
When victims demanded the return of their money, organization members bought time with pretexts. They even went so far as to use a staged robbery with physical harm to a victim, while in another case they “staged” the arrest of the deputy leader by people pretending to be police officers, seizing a large sum as supposed confiscation. In fact, in the context of the case, a well-known businessman -owner of spa centers, among others- was arrested. He is accused of felony fraud exceeding 1 million euros. The businessman is considered a person who has a pivotal role in the network and presents himself as a “guarantor” to prospective victims. The victims may number more than 10.
The findings: a treasury of dubious authenticity
In the searches conducted, police discovered an impressive volume of “luxury” items, many of which may be fake:
- 113 diamonds of dubious authenticity
- 735 gold coins of dubious authenticity
- Numerous “ROLEX” type watches of dubious authenticity
- Bundles of counterfeit banknotes totaling 725,450 euros
- The cash amount of 38,925 euros
- Two fake checks worth 100,000 and 600,000 euros
- Three luxury cars
- Six mobile phones
A total of 13 fraud cases have been solved (completed and attempted), with illegal financial gain exceeding 1,300,000 euros. The arrested individuals are being brought before the competent prosecutorial authority.
