Open response to those asking for MY advice about Aguilera and the CAM Bank Mortgages

I have been contacted both publically and privately by many of those with properties purchased from Solera Trampolin and now living on El Trampolin in villas with large CAM Bank mortgages. Look, as you all know I am NOT a Lawyer and can only give an opinion based upon (a) my own experiences of dealing with the Legal profession in Spain and (b) the not inconsiderable “Legal Knowledge” gained in fighting my own case against Rafael Aguilera and Trampolin Solera.

The starting point for this is the most obvious fact that these Mortgages have been illegally obtained  since we now know that in at least two cases “forged documentation” has been used to secure the funding. My understanding is that wherever and whenever a “Builders Mortgage” is granted the Developer should be in possession of a valid signed “Contract of Sale”. The funds are then released to cover the cost of building the property concerned. In this instance the funds involved have apparently been advanced against a valuation which is as much as 30% HIGHER than the agreed purchase price.

In order to secure this high level of funding the Developer has presented … certainly in the case of MY plot and that of Mr and Mrs Platt … a signed document purporting to represent the legitimate “Contract Holders” agreement to the Mortgage. Now I STRESS we have only seen so far two such documents BOTH OF WHICH CONTAIN THE FORGED SIGNATURES of the Contract Holders. Aside from the ridiculous wording of both letters both letters contain identical wording and are supposedly signed and dated on the same day BUT SHOW NO ACTUAL VALUE TO BE ADVANCED. Now then who on earth would agree to a third party taking out a loan against a anything you might own for an unspecified value! MY BELIEF IS THAT A SIMILAR DOCUMENT EXISTS FOR EACH AND EVERY PROPERTY SUBJECT TO A CAM BANK MORTGAGE AND SO YOU ALL NEED TO OBTAIN THE ONE APPERTAINING TO YOUR OWN INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY. So far we know of just two such documents but when armed with +-45 ALL the same and dated on the SAME DAY I suggest the Authorities in Spain and the Bank of Spain will be forced to rule the transaction illegal.

So far the Bank of Spain have said that they don’t want to talk about this I guess because the are presiding over such an awful and corrupt Banking sector that they want to bury this comparatively small fraud below all of the rest.

Now then, the complication in all this is that we all have slightly different “angles” on the same fraud and we … rather YOU … are all using different Lawyers! From my own direct experience the majority of Lawyers in Spain (I DID NOT SAY ALL) are both dilatory, slow and see their real intention to be to “rip” their clients off for tens of thousands of Euros … my own included … and intent upon dragging things out so long that either the client runs out of money or dies before the matter ever reaches the Courts. This does not, however, mean that ALL Lawyers behave in this way and I am aware of at least four that have canvassed for clients on this VERY SITE who are not … I invite them all to respond to this post!

At this point I suggest many of you are thinking why am I sticking with my own Lawyers rather than taking MY OWN ADVICE. The answer is simple; I believe that my Lawyer has correctly identified the Legal path to go down and whilst having redefined the word “dilatory” he now … after five years … has Aguilera in Court on the charge of “Double Selling” … a Statutory Criminal Offence in Spain … about 2 weeks from now on 22^nd February. Aguilera has no defence for this since clearly he sold MY PROPERTY … Plot 82 … to Mr and Mrs Philips when I had (a) paid around 200,000€ for the property and (b) held a valid “Purchase Contract”. I would not be so bold as to suggest that for him that it is “all over” because there are very few things in life that are certain other than taxes and death! However I would rather be in MY situation than his facing four years in a Spanish Prison! Indeed Aguilera has changed his Lawyer I believe at least 3 times since starting his doomed defence of my action.

However that is MY CASE and with you all there are also several different situations giving each of you a potentially different legal scenario to cover. Some of you have paid in full (I know of at least three properties in this category) and some have paid the majority but have a balance outstanding … some have Escrituras other have not. I am aware that at least one Lawyer has seen one of the Escritura’s held in connection with this matter and it states that whilst the Purchaser is aware that sums of money are outstanding to the Builder (now in Administration) that they are also aware of the Mortgage outstanding with CAM Bank but this is endorsed by Aguilera who states that he accepts responsibility for this debt. Consider then … and remember HERE I AM NOT A LAWYER … my personal feeling is that those who have signed such a document have accepted that the mortgage with CAM is in place (thereby I fear negating any action against the Bank) and recognising that Aguilera is accepting personal responsibility for the borrowing. Several of you have advised me that they have a “case” in Court in March BUT AGAINST WHO? I suggest it is against Aguilera and NOT CAM Bank but I am open to be proved wrong … indeed for your sake’s I hope I am since by that time Aguilera MAY well be in Prison!

Others amongst you are concerned that by “speaking out” you will alert the Administration to your outstanding debt on your Purchase Contract … believe me they already know. I suggest it will be a tough battle to try and offset the outstanding balances against the Mortgage and with the properties being worth 40 – 50% less than the agreed Purchase price this will be a bitter pill BUT THIS IS NOT THE FAULT OF TRAMPOLIN!

Look, it seems to me that Lawyers in Spain operate on the principle of “Divide and Rule” and so it is with you all. You all have different Lawyers who are refusing to provide you with the information you seek  … indeed to tell you anything … and they all have access to exactly the same “Forged documentation”  which collectively will have CAM Bank “bang to rights”! Some of you I recognise do not have the stamina for a fight and consider themselves too old and tired to fight any longer BUT AM I ANY DIFFERENT?  I am 62 years old and fighting on my own … how much stronger would you all be if you decided to fight together? As it stands I believe you have a Criminal Fraud Case against Aguilera but what is he going to have left after his battle with me? Together you have the might to crush CAM Bank .. or rather SCAM Bank as one of your number so “delicately” put it. I am going to “Blind Copy” all of those with whom I have already been in contact in an email but invite any of you who wish for my opinions to either respond here or alternatively “private message me” and I will make my suggestions. EVEN BETTER WOULD BE FOR THE LAWYERS VYING FOR YOUR BUSINESS TO ADD COMMENT TO THIS POST.

Andrew, thanks for your post.

As I mentioned when I started a thread about a possible class action against CAM Bank last month, I am an English lawyer currently working in Barcelona for UHY & Fay, a mixed law and accountancy firm, which also has offices in Málaga, Puerto Banús, Madrid, Santiago de Compostela and Tenerife. The firm’s litigation department specialises in fraud and financial scams and the criminal and civil claims that arise from them. It has broad experience in representing clients who have been defrauded by unscrupulous financial advisors and property developers across a wide range of different scams.

Having spoken to several people affected by the problems at El Trampolín, I understand that residents have a variety of different problems and have a variety of different views about how best to proceed – as well as having a variety of different lawyers. Without knowing the details of residents’ individual cases, it would be presumptuous of me to suggest the best course of action and I am very aware that people are wary about spending any more money on lawyers than they already have.

Nevertheless, if people are considering action against CAM Bank, it seems to me that it would be more likely to be successful if a group action were brought, since it would suggest a systematic fraud. The legal costs would also be spread over a number of people. When I talked to my boss here in Barcelona about the situation, he also raised two further points. The longer that people make no legal complaint about the mortgages taken out with their apparent approval, the longer it looks like they have tacitly accepted them. In addition, if action is to be taken against CAM, it would be best to take it when they are disorganised and have not been able to work out their own strategy for dealing with the issue in advance.

Having spoken to my boss, our proposal is that we come to Murcia for a day sometime towards the end of February. We would then be happy to meet anyone who wished to come and speak to us about their situation. From my firm’s point of view, this would enable us to gauge whether a class action might stand some chance of success. From your point of view, it would give you a chance to ask questions and get another legal viewpoint. Clearly, it would be irresponsible to commit the firm to anything beyond this general consultation and equally it would be unreasonable to expect any of you to commit to anything more than this either. Essentially, what I am proposing is an opportunity for both you and us to size up the situation.

As you will appreciate, though, there is no point in our coming unless a sufficient number of people are interested in meeting us. I would be very grateful if anyone who would be interested in doing so could either post a reply on this thread or personal message me. I will then try to sort out a convenient day to come.

I hope that eventually and in whatever way you all manage to receive justice.

Yours sincerely,

Charlie at UHY

 Andrew , we havnt met but I am active on this forum and have used the services of CPC HOLDING  and AGUERA -ARREBOLA  to save my property on Bosque 3 .

I have seen your articles and I feel that your group ( assuming they get together ) should certainly meet with this group who truly did exactley what they said they would  and kept us fully informed of progress along the way . Without Louise Clark (sadly recently deceased ) I doubt I would have a home in Orihuela now as it was she who did the introduction for us and highlighted our plight and the sucess thanks to these people .

I

Hi Gaula and Charlie

Firstly thank you both for responding to my "posts" regarding SCAM Bank and Trampolin Solera which concern the imperilled lives of perhaps some 45 indiviual "families" who's very homes at risk in what must be a part of one of the largest Frauds in Spansih Corporate history. There are some 4 posts on this and similar subjects which have received a total of some 2800 "hits" yet apart from the personal contacts from a small handful of those affected NONE OF THOSE AFFECTED HAVE SEEN FIT TO COME FORWARD! i have spoken to both Chris and Tomas Aguera and it seems to me that none of the Owners quite appreciate just how at risk they really are. Those with "Escrituras" appear to have signed ACCEPTING that the Mortgage is in place with a simple endorsement from Rafael Aguilera stating that he is responsible for its repayment ... DO THEY REALLY THINK THAT THIS MAKES IT OK AND THAT WITH THIS ONE SIMPLE STATEMENT SCAM BANK'S SECURITY IS WIPED OUT ... IT MOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT! To achieve this they will need to show that the Mortgages were "Fraudulently" granted and the forged letters by Aguilera and Trampolin Solera do just that! HOWEVER SO FAR WE HAVE ONLY TWO!

Rafael Aguilera was the sole Administrator for Trampolin Solera in spite of the direct involvement of Antonio Martinez and Ronald Mans and ultimately he will be the individual responsible. In exactly the same way that he went to the Notary to sign away with the DOUBLE sale of MY property to Mr and Mrs Philips he has effectively signed away your rights to contest the SCAM Bank "Mortgage Fraud" unless you can show that the Bank were complicit. Alone with all of them using different Lawyers they will NEVER achieve this. Lawyers in Spain with a few notable exceptions (AGUERA - ARREBOLA, COSTA LUZ, UHY & FAY and GM LEGAL EXPERTS) appear to be so docile and lethargic that they are prepared to "trundle" along in what must be the slowest Legal system in the World. Even my own Lawyers have taken 5 years to finally get Aguilera into Court for what must be the clearest case of fraud ever!

I implore one last time that all of those affected to just get together behind one Lawyer and expose both the "crooks" who ran Trampolin Solera and above all SCAM Bank and expose this fraud once and for all. I accept that "corruption" in Spain appears to run from the top to the bottom and back again with event the Country's Prime Minister not being averse to having his hand in the "corporate till"! However ... get together and FIGHT the Bank and YOU WILL WIN since the letters used to Mortgage both yours and what should rightfully be MY property are all forged ... I know it and YOU KNOW IT. Please just take my advice.

Finally to those who have wished me luck on the 22nd I thank you; it should not take luck since Aguilera is clearly guilty of fraud but then this is Spain so who knows! Kind regards Andrew

 Hi Andrew ,

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The problem is clients never know who to trust and tend to stick with "the devil they know " , we have heard of clients who do their respective court cases with the same lawyer who failed to obtain their guarentees when they were purchasing ..... you coulnt make it up and it would almost be funny if it wasnt so sad........

More worrying is the fact that according to your post  the clients have signed title deeds AWARE of the debt and truly belive that the fact the constructor has admitted the debt renders them totally non liable for it ..... Debt in spain stays with the property not the person by signing the deeds they have acknowledged the debt.

I truly hope you get this group together and that they at least get some professional help to clarify their REAL situation if nothing else .

 Andrew , I think you are going to have to accept that it is impossible to form a cohesive group from the parties in difficulties at Solera , I know you are right but what good are two of us fighting together we needed them all to make it work and as usual the head in the sand mentality has won.

I more than anyone am totally shattered by the experience , everything you have said has come true an I know I will loose my home now , perhaps when the repossesion notices hit the doormat this lot will finally open their eyes .(to late )

Good luck for the court case mate will see you and Kate for a celebration drink , you can buy it from your winnings.