A Spanish driving enthusiast and his son have been arrested and charged with fraud after allegedly falsely reporting their car as stolen. According to local authorities, the main evidence against them is a video of the car crashing at the Circuito del Jarama racetrack, which occurred long before it was claimed to be stolen.
The Policia Nacional arrested the pair after they reported the father’s Renault Megane Coupe as stolen at the end of January 2022. In their statement, they said the car had been stolen on a street in the town of Langreo, in the North of Spain, reports Europa Press.
The father, who owned the vehicle, was given a €12,000 ($12,747 USD at current exchange rates) payout by his insurer. Police, though, started investigating the insurance claim after they say they found inconsistencies in the report.
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Police allege that the Renault Megane Coupe in question was crashed in late 2021 at the Circuito del Jarama in Madrid, per Periodismo del Motor. They claim that the car never returned to the Asturia region, where the father and son live.
In a video shared by the police, the car can be seen coming out of a corner, spearing into a wall, and rolling several times, before landing on its roof. Fortunately, both the driver and passenger emerge from the vehicle, apparently unscathed, but the damage to the car is substantial.
Recordings of the crash were shared publicly by a number of online sources, which may have helped tip off authorities that something was going on. Police claim that following the accident, their investigation found that the car had been sold for parts.
As a result, both the owner of the vehicle, and his son, have been charged with fraud.
