Court hears of alleged romance-fuelled €167,000 scam with elderly woman
Accused allegedly bought laptop and latest iPhone using woman’s money
A 42-year-old man who developed a romantic relationship with an elderly woman was accused of illicitly taking €167,000 from her by convincing her the money would be used to start a business.
The court heard that Alexander Anthony Gialanze Whiteford developed a relationship with the victim when he was in prison.
The 69-year-old woman, who cannot be named in court, soon started sending him money and even acted as a third-party guarantor when he secured bail.
Andre Frendo is also facing misappropriation charges.
On Thursday, the court heard that the woman and Gialanze Whiteford entered into a contract in which she was donating €100,000 to the man. The contract was signed before a notary on April 23.
The ‘donation’ was made to “avoid problems” and to ease the flow of money from the woman to the accused. The money was to be used for their business.
Police inspector Ritienne Gauci said that €10,000 from the €100,000 donation had actually been withdrawn from the woman’s bank accounts before the donation contract was signed.
She explained that when Gialanze Whiteford left prison on April 19, he started asking for the money the next day to “start the business.”
The woman withdrew the money from her bank accounts and gave it to him without waiting for the donation contract.
In addition to that money, the woman also gave him €55,000. The woman withdrew €1,000 and €1,400 from two of her bank accounts daily, and as soon as she withdrew €12,000 or €13,000, she would allegedly call Frendo to collect the money and pass it on to Gialanze Whiteford.
Gialanze Whiteford allegedly asked for the €55,000 to be used for the business they had planned to start together once he left prison.
The court heard that Gialanze Whiteford allegedly bought an HP laptop and the latest iPhone using the woman’s money for the business they had planned to start together.
The woman also gifted the accused Rolex watches and a PlayStation, among other things.
On Thursday, Gialanze Whiteford, a tattooist, was accused of obtaining money under false pretences to the tune of €167,748. He was also accused of fraudulent gain and misappropriation.
Gialanze Whiteford and Frendo were arrested on June 3.
Replying to a question from defence lawyer Charles Mercieca, Gauci said that Gialanze Whiteford replied to all the questions during his interrogation except for the last one. Asked whether she could confirm if Gialanze Whiteford bought the woman a car with her money, Gauci said he had claimed so during his interrogation but it did not result from the investigation.
She reiterated that the money had to be used for the business they allegedly planned to set up together.
Lawyer Christian Cauchi, assisting Frendo, also questioned the inspector about whether Frendo was present for the donation contract. Gauci said he was not and clarified that Gialanze Whiteford would instruct the woman to withdraw the money and hand it over to Frendo, while the latter would simply collect it.
Frendo also bought one of the Rolex watches as a present for the co-accused from the woman’s money.
On Thursday, Gialanze Whiteford, a tattooist, was accused of obtaining money under false pretences to the tune of €167,748. He was also accused of fraudulent gain and misappropriation.
He was additionally charged with money laundering and breaching two sets of bail conditions, as well as relapsing.
Frendo, a taxi driver, on the other hand, was accused of being an accomplice in defrauding the woman out of €55,000. He was also charged with money laundering.
They both pleaded not guilty.
A request for bail was made, with the prosecution objecting to the request.
The prosecution observed that the woman had filed an application wherein she asked to stop acting as a guarantor for the accused, and the request was upheld, with the court ordering Gialanze Whiteford’s arrest.
After hearing the submissions, the court denied Gialanze Whiteford bail.
On the other hand, Frendo was granted bail against a €2,000 deposit and €3,000 personal guarantee. He was ordered to sign the bail book daily and prohibited from speaking to any witnesses or his co-accused.
The court upheld the freezing order requests by the prosecution.
Lawyers Yvette Borg Cardona and Martina Muscat prosecuted, assisted by police inspectors Conrad Falzon and Ritienne Gauci.
Lawyer Charles Mercieca assisted Gialanze Whiteford and lawyer Christian Camilleri assisted Frendo.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Adreana Zammit assisted the alleged victim.