A criminal gang consisting of 11 individuals has been sentenced for charges of fraud, swindling, and theft amounting to 40 million Saudi riyals in a final ruling issued by an appellate court in Saudi Arabia.
According to the published information, the gang includes 8 Saudis and 3 Sudanese nationals, consisting of a businessman, his “misyar” wife who works as a hairdresser, and a number of aides and assistants. They seized millions from their victims, including stealing a bank check from an honorary member of a popular club while he was praying, defrauding a former national team supervisor of 12 million riyals, seizing 6 million riyals from a blind woman, and taking a deposit from a fake deal involving a Saudi poet and man of letters.
The ruling stipulated a reduction in the penalty and the complete dismissal of the death penalty due to the lack of legal justification for its application. The gang members were sentenced to terms ranging between 18 and 25 years in prison, along with fines, with penalties determined according to each individual’s role in the crime.
The court sentenced the primary leader of the gang to 25 years in prison, in addition to a travel ban for a similar period. It also issued a 13-year prison sentence to his wife, who carried out sham tasks serving the gang’s objectives, and banned her from traveling as well.
The court also convicted two Sudanese residents, sentencing them to 18 years in prison followed by deportation from the country, and fined them due to their criminal records. The ruling also included other Saudi citizens who were convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison and financial fines.
The facts upon which they were convicted summarize the perpetrators’ professional engagement in fraud, selling illusions, and luring victims through fake real estate sales and forged deeds. This included stealing a bank check from an honorary member of a popular club while he was praying, defrauding a former national team supervisor of 12 million riyals, seizing 6 million riyals from a blind woman, and taking a deposit from a fake deal involving a Saudi poet and man of letters.
The methods of crime varied through several techniques; the primary defendant used a rented seaside chalet costing one million riyals annually to delude victims into thinking he was a well-known wealthy man with companies and a prominent trade name. Additionally, he used dozens of luxury cars and distinguished phone numbers, utilizing real estate brokerage offices as supporting tools for financial fraud operations. In one of his crimes, he detained a real estate individual inside his seaside residence using handcuffs, blindfolding him, pointing a firearm at his face, and seizing a bank check that he had requested the victim write to one of the gang members in exchange for a fake property transfer.
Investigations presented by the Public Prosecution to the court stated that the gang leader is a dangerous repeat offender with a criminal record, wanted in criminal cases with previous arrest warrants issued against him. The Public Prosecution provided about 250 pieces of evidence and clues against the 11 defendants, ranging from digital evidence and confessions to established evidence against the perpetrators.
The court granted the perpetrators the right to defend themselves and reviewed response memos regarding the charges against them. The accused hairdresser stated that she married the gang leader—a misyar marriage—and was used to cover his crimes of fraud, swindling, and drug possession. She reported that she frequented his apartment in a seaside tower. The gang members consistently sold fake properties using forged deeds shown to the buyer, then seized the check written for the purchase through fraud and deception and cashed it. In some cases, they convinced a blind woman to issue them a power of attorney and seized her property. They also seized a 5-million-riyal check by force and at gunpoint, detaining the victim for hours until the check was cashed.
United News Network – UNN Arabic
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