Woman Arrested in Southern Chile for Defrauding 200 Families in Housing Scam

Authorities have apprehended a 48-year-old woman in Puerto Varas, accused of defrauding more than 200 families in Iquique. The woman allegedly impersonated an official from Serviu, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, to illicitly obtain approximately 400 million Chilean pesos (about $430,000 USD) from families seeking social housing.

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A work of intelligence, of information, of cell phone triangulation: a vast investigation.

The arrest was carried out by the Investigative Police (PDI) and was the culmination of an extensive intelligence operation. Sub-prefect Gustavo Sáez, head of the PDI's Economic Crimes Brigade in Iquique, explained that the capture was made possible through "intelligence work, information, cell phone triangulation: a vast investigation."

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The collaborative work of the PDI from our region (Tarapacá) with the PDI from the Los Lagos Region, where the accused was located practically in the countryside, in the Ensenada sector of the commune of Puerto Varas.

The collaborative effort between the PDI units in the Tarapacá and Los Lagos regions successfully located the suspect. She was found living with her family in a rented house in the Ensenada sector of Puerto Varas, where she was detained. The woman has been formally charged at the Iquique Guarantee Court with repeated fraud and malicious use of public instruments. She has been placed in preventive detention.

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She was renting a house with her family, where she was arrested.