This is how it appeared years ago Manel Forés, alleged Barcelona lawyersought after by hundreds of customers who accuse him of scamming them: “My name is Manel Forés and I define myself as a tireless researcher of the truthchallenges and human virtue. I was born in Barcelonacapital of Catalonia, Spain, June 23, 1964. I have had the chance to travel a lot on this planet. I currently live in Barcelona. Then, Manel worked for Justbeenpaid, a so-called investment company, for others it was a pyramid profit company of those who find themselves with some in the dock for money laundering and many more. others ruined.
“My training; I finished my university studies of law and the last three years I combined it with business careerbut in accordance with my vocation as an entrepreneur”, explained Manel. His entrepreneurial spirit is not called into question. His victims discuss how to proceed. After several forays into this type of business with a dubious reputation , he became a founding partner of the company. “Fix your debt”and later at the head of his twin “Get out of debt”.
The company “Get out of debt” It was presented as a company specializing in canceling the debts of insolvent people through the application of the second chance law. They were going to legally succeed in benefiting from the law in court which would free them from their debts. Barcelona’s alleged lawyer was the legal director.
Exactly the opposite of what the company had announced happened. Hundreds of customers ended up with even less money. The company did not cancel their debts or take legal action, and it also kept their money.
“He who does not risk does not win”
This is what denounces the complaint filed before the National Court by the lawyers of the company “Freedom without Debts” on the part of four of these victims who contacted them after the alleged fraud of Manel’s company. In this complaint filed by the lawyer Éloi Esmérats It is said that the victims “in a deplorable economic situation” contacted the company “End your debts” via the Internet and signed their contract to help them benefit from the second chance law so that their debts could be legally canceled .
“I invite you to give yourself the opportunity to change your life. You do not lose anything but on the contrary, you will gain a lot and remember that “he who does not risk does not win”» proclaimed Manel, the Barcelona lawyer, on his websites. The success story was complemented by videos of Manel himself as well as grateful customers recounting the blessing that using his services had brought them.
Then, after signing the contract, many met Manel from afar. “He hid in his office, he was a moody guy who, when trouble started, hid it and told his employees to keep lying,” the victims say.
The company has disappeared
The company demanded payment of sums between 2,500 and 3,000 euros to comply with legal procedures. They did not do so and when the victims tried to claim their money back, they did not return it. The business simply disappeared.
A few months ago, Manel disappeared. Although he resides in Barcelona, as he explains in his profile on another of his many blogs and web pages, his alleged victims are unable to find Manel. They also can’t get him to answer their calls.
“It’s a shame. They took all the money from everyone involved and we don’t know where our files are. “Is there a platform on Facebook for those affected? “wrote one in the company’s online reviews. Another replied: “Today they sent me a message saying that the director he left with the money “and they hadn’t paid the workers for months.”
Another victim called herself “Another scam… I will file a complaint but it’s wasted money. They totally charmed me, a super friendly and attentive advisor who gained my blind trust. It demoralizes you, but you have to move forward. “I’m already starting with other lawyers to get out of the hole.”
Victims discover the truth
Manel also did not pay his workers’ salaries. One of them went to a competing company to ask for a job. He went to “Freedom Without Debt” and told lawyer Eloi Esmerats everything that was happening. The woman had the contacts on her phone for more than 500 victims, perhaps a thousand, from Manel’s office. Four have already reported it, but Eloi confirms that several hundred others have called them for advice. The alleged scam, if the complaint is accepted before the National Court, would claim thousands of victims throughout Spain. Manel has already said this on the “Fini ta debt” website: “We are experts in applying the second chance law, with more than 7,000 clients”.
One of these customers is Albert. “I contacted them because they were closest to me, I needed to take advantage of the second chance law because debt was choking me. He asked me for money for the procedures: 2,700 euros for papers with the court and 300 for the lawyer. I had to pay it in installments of 50 euros per month because I didn’t even have enough to eat. When I paid him everything, he didn’t start the paperwork. They told me they would sort everything out in six months. They never did. They didn’t even present my request to the court. They didn’t refund my money either.“.
Where is the money?
Those involved suspect that their money, which they estimate to be worth almost two million euros, could have “stolen” to Manel’s companies. José Manuel owns five businesses, one of which is inactive.
The oldest is the one that was created to perpetuate the company. “Get out of debt”but the most suspicious thing is that the other three he keeps active were created when victims began to suspect and report the alleged scam online. These companies state that they are in the real estate business, and that is where the victims believe their money has gone. They suspect Manel, Barcelona’s alleged lawyer, invested in housing. From now on, the victims are uniting around the lawyers of “Debt Free Freedom” to try to recover them.
