Mallorca tax advisor who faked her own death admits to seven-figure fraud

The 51-year-old woman was a tax advisor to a German energy company with interests in Mallorca. In 2020, funds that were supposed to have been for paying taxes were found to have been misappropriated. She was charged and was due to have appeared in court on November 2 that year.

An email was sent to the court by her sister. This stated that she had been killed in a road accident in Rostock, Germany. A death certificate was provided, but a private detective agency was hired because of suspicions that this was all a fake. The agency found she was active on social media. Either she was being impersonated or she was still alive.

Investigators were to discover that she lived on a luxury estate in Santa Ponsa, had cut her hair and changed its colour to drastically alter her appearance. They had focused on the fact that she owned a giant poodle, a rare breed in Mallorca. Investigators looked for the dog, scouring parts of Andratx and Calvia, which was where they suspected she was hiding. They eventually saw a man walking a giant poodle that matched images which had been posted on social media. They followed him to the luxury property in Santa Ponsa.

The agency sent a report to the Guardia Civil. The property was searched, forged documents were found and she was arrested.

The Prosecutor's Office estimated the fraud to have amounted to six million euros. She repaid €1.5 million. With this repayment, and having admitted to the fraud and the faked death, she will not go to prison. Nor will her sister Anna, who had sent the email to the court.