Man arrested in Puerto del Rosario for identity theft to work while receiving public benefits

National Police agents from the Local Police Station of Puerto del Rosario have successfully concluded “Operation Marionette,” a police operation that uncovered a case of civil‑status usurpation, labour fraud, and illegal receipt of social benefits on the island of Fuerteventura.

The investigation, carried out between 18 and 27 November 2025, ended with the arrest of a man who had been working for several months using another person’s documents while, in parallel, collecting unemployment and paternity benefits under his true identity.

The operation began thanks to the routine collaboration between the Local Immigration and Border Brigade and social‑ and business‑sector agents on the island, within a preventive framework aimed at detecting irregularities in the labour market.

Initial inquiries revealed that the suspect had supplied a temporary‑employment agency with a compatriot’s documentation to formalise a work contract, a discrepancy the agency did not initially detect.

After several months of activity, the company’s managers noticed that the individual showing up for the job did not match the identity on the submitted papers. They reported the matter to the National Police and terminated the employment relationship.

With the employer cleared of any liability, police set up a coordinated operation with the company that fully identified the alleged perpetrator. Police records confirmed that the suspect was simultaneously receiving multiple social benefits, thereby obtaining an illicit economic advantage through identity theft.

The gathered evidence unequivocally proved the existence of two distinct identities and a direct loss to the Social Security system and the Public Treasury, caused by the improper combination of salary and public aid.

On 25 November 2025, officers detained the primary suspect. The investigation continued and identified a second man who acted as a collaborator, allegedly providing his documentation in exchange for monetary compensation.

It was also established that the wages from the illicit employment were deposited into a bank account in the collaborator’s name, although the detained individual was the one who actually used the associated card.

To locate the legitimate holder of the fraudulently used documents, authorities requested assistance from the Provincial Police Station of Palma de Mallorca. Their intervention led to the person’s identification and statement as a non‑detained suspect, contributing to a full clarification of the facts.

With the investigation concluded, the National Police forwarded a report to the General Treasury of Social Security, urging the appropriate administrative actions within its jurisdiction.