Frisian farmer unfortunately involved in fraud case, ‘shame on these people’

A dairy farmer from the Frisian town of Sint Jacobiparochie has unwittingly been at the center of a fraud case. A scammer used the farmer’s company details to offer tractors that didn’t exist.

The scammer posed as a tractor salesman and posted ads on Facebook. For this he used the data of the dairy farmer Jos Faassen, among others.

The victims thought they had found a new tractor, but when they traveled to the Faassen dairy farm they discovered they had been scammed. Some had already paid down. “It’s sad for these guys. They figured it out pretty quickly when they got here,” Faassen said. Omrop Fryslan.

At least five people came to the farm. According to Faassen, some victims had traveled hundreds of kilometers. “At one point a truck even drove up with people from Poland who only spoke English,” he said. “They arranged for a truck to pick up the tractor.”

Another victim, a man from Limburg, had made a down payment of 650 euros for a tractor he wanted to buy for his cousin in the Czech Republic. “He wanted to take a good look at the tractor before taking it, but of course there was nothing there,” says Faassen.

The dairy farmer reported identity fraud. He also got the scammer’s number and called him. “I called him several times. “But a few days later he stopped answering the phone. Then he became silent. He was arrested.”

According to Omrop Fryslân, the suspect is a 30-year-old man from Utrecht. He is said to be known to the police and has been convicted several times in the past, including fraud and threats.

Faassen is relieved that the case is finally coming to an end. He feels sorry for the victims. “That man from Limburg, he never saw any of his money again.”