Man sentenced to prison for defrauding buyers in Norway and Spain

A man has been sentenced to one year and two months in prison for defrauding 172 individuals out of nearly half a million kroner by selling mobile phones and festival passes on Finn.no and Facebook. The man listed over 100 mobile phones and several festival passes for sale, but the buyers never received the items they paid for.

In August 2023 alone, he deceived 49 buyers who believed they were purchasing phones. He has been ordered to pay 224,000 kroner in compensation to the victims, while the state will seize an additional 118,000 kroner tied to the fraud.

To conceal his actions, the man created fake Facebook profiles, used false names, presented bogus receipts, and arranged for fraudulent shipments through the postal service. He also set up multiple bank accounts both in Norway and abroad. The man, in his 30s, acknowledged his guilt and accepted the court’s ruling, which means there will be no appeal.

After the fraud was reported, he was banned from Finn.no. The platform confirmed receiving four reports of fraud against him and had to block multiple attempts by him to post ads thereafter.

Police began investigating the case in 2023, which led to him being internationally wanted by September of the same year. He was arrested in Spain on July 9, 2023, specifically on the Canary Island of Fuerteventura. He has been in custody for 116 days, which will be deducted from his sentence.