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Dutch expat con man reputedly linked to major Netherlands crime family
| Published: | 11 Jul at 6 PM |
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Expat havens the world over have their share of dodgy characters ready and willing to defraud other expats of their hard-earned savings, but this Costa del Sol con man may be unique.
Exposed recently by Spain’s leading expat newspaper, Jan Brinkman has been busy ripping off fellow expats as well as locals with tall tales of ultra-rewarding investments. One such, Marbella-based movie stuntman Peter Wicke, was targeted by Brinkman as he searched for investors in his new Movie Television Productions International company.
Brinkman had placed an ad offering ‘safe, secure, no result no payment investments’, an interesting proposition for Wicke. After several meetings, the fraudster offered €5 million on condition Wicke paid €10,000 up front to cover notary and legal fees. The stuntman handed over €2,500 to Brinkman and his unseen business partner, one Jan Te Riet.
Shortly after he’d delivered the cash, Wicke’s common sense came back online and he contacted local police. A court case is now pending, with the report of the scam in the expat newspaper bringing six more expats who’d been scammed by Brinkman into the spotlight.
One Marbella businessman gave Brinkman over €90,000 as a beach bar investment, only to be told the money hadn’t arrived. The IBAN bank code was in Brinkman’s wife’s father’s name, Jan te Riet. Investigations have revealed that Gert Jan te Riet, Brinkman’s brother-in-law, was featured in a Dutch TV crime investigation, thus suggesting that scamming is a highly successful family business.
Another Dutch expat victim, Gerard Bromhaer, is short of some €42,000 as the result of a dodgy property deal with the gang. It seems the connection with a known Dutch crime family may be undeniable, giving the possibility of hundreds more victims in the Costa del Sol as well as in the Netherlands. Unsurprisingly, when the newspaper attempted to contact them, the family was unavailable.
Exposed recently by Spain’s leading expat newspaper, Jan Brinkman has been busy ripping off fellow expats as well as locals with tall tales of ultra-rewarding investments. One such, Marbella-based movie stuntman Peter Wicke, was targeted by Brinkman as he searched for investors in his new Movie Television Productions International company.
Brinkman had placed an ad offering ‘safe, secure, no result no payment investments’, an interesting proposition for Wicke. After several meetings, the fraudster offered €5 million on condition Wicke paid €10,000 up front to cover notary and legal fees. The stuntman handed over €2,500 to Brinkman and his unseen business partner, one Jan Te Riet.
Shortly after he’d delivered the cash, Wicke’s common sense came back online and he contacted local police. A court case is now pending, with the report of the scam in the expat newspaper bringing six more expats who’d been scammed by Brinkman into the spotlight.
One Marbella businessman gave Brinkman over €90,000 as a beach bar investment, only to be told the money hadn’t arrived. The IBAN bank code was in Brinkman’s wife’s father’s name, Jan te Riet. Investigations have revealed that Gert Jan te Riet, Brinkman’s brother-in-law, was featured in a Dutch TV crime investigation, thus suggesting that scamming is a highly successful family business.
Another Dutch expat victim, Gerard Bromhaer, is short of some €42,000 as the result of a dodgy property deal with the gang. It seems the connection with a known Dutch crime family may be undeniable, giving the possibility of hundreds more victims in the Costa del Sol as well as in the Netherlands. Unsurprisingly, when the newspaper attempted to contact them, the family was unavailable.
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