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Expat whistleblower in rental fraud case now accused of exact same ‘illegal’ rental scam

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By Alberto Lejarraga

AN EXPAT whistleblower who denounced a pair of holiday scammers a decade ago has been accused of the exact same fraud.

Juliette De Courcy Withey, based in Malaga, is being taken to court over €70,000 she allegedly owes to the owner of a luxury 15-bed villa.

Withey, from Guernsey, allegedly faces seven years prison over the claims that she illegally rented the huge luxury home in Benahavis.

The allegations relate to a €2,800-a-night palace that was once owned by a Saudi Prince.

Withey, who lives in the Guadalhorce Valley, allegedly pocketed the rental income from the home in Benahavis rather than giving it to the owner.

The owner, Vicente Gonzalez, has filed a complaint at Marbella court claiming Withey pocketed €68,000, although he told the Olive Press he believes ‘thousands more’ is missing in cash payments.

It is the most ironic twist then, that Withey, 65, had herself filed an official complaint against her former boss- es eight years ago, claiming the exact same crime. She went public claiming fellow expats Mark and Michelle Stafford had been renting out properties - including the Benahavis palace - that they did not own, collecting thousands from unsuspecting clients.

In what became known as the ‘Rainbow Villas scam’, the Olive Press revealed how more than 100 tourists fell victim to the couple, based nearby in Alhaurin.

In a shocking fraud, leading to the Staffords arrest, many lost thousands when their bookings were cancelled at the last moment. Some of the most unfortunate clients arrived for their dream holiday to find someone else living in the property they had booked. Ironically, Withey - who had worked with the Staffords from their palatial home in Alhaurin - has now been accused in a lawsuit by Gonzalez, 61.

The Spanish lawyer, from Barcelona, told the Olive Press that Withey had been managing the property since helping to expose the original scam in 2015.

But, he claims she has been ‘illegally renting’ out the 1,700 m2 palace - once owned by former Saudi Arabia Minister of Defence, Prince Abdul-Aziz Saud - which is able to house up to 31 people. He told the Olive Press Withey was ‘in charge of the bookings’ and the mostly-British clients made two payments, one a deposit to secure it and another 30 days before arrival.

In court papers, seen by the Olive Press, he claims Withey would ask clients for the second payment to be transferred to her bank account or to be given to her in cash.

Court papers claim that Withey sometimes rented the property to conflicting clients at the same time, cancelling one of the clients, but still pocketing the money, similar to the Rainbow Villas scam.

A source has told the Olive Press that Withey hooked clients through a network of social media sites such as Booking. com and rental websites.

But the source, a British owner of a Marbella rental company Withey used to advertise the palace with, expressed real surprise at the claims.

“She was legally working for the property so it was not suspicious at all. There were even times when I spoke to her clients and they said she was a lovely woman and they had a great time at the house,” she explained.

The problem was, while the clients may have been having a nice time, the actual owner, Gonzalez, claims he had no idea about them.

It was in 2019, when he was handed documentation by a rental agency, that he discovered multiple bookings for the rest of that year as well as for 2020 and 2021.

Prison

“It’s really important to expose Withey’s behaviour so that she does not scam any other people,” Gonzalez insisted this week. “She has had over a year to pay me back and has paid nothing.

“I don’t want her to go to prison, but she needs to pay soon or that is what will happen.”

According to the lawyer, Withey could face a prison sentence of seven years and six months for misappropriation and fraud, if found guilty.

When contacted by the Olive Press, Withey refused to speak, adding:

“You need to speak to my lawyer. I have nothing to say. He will contact you. He will explain.” He hadn’t by the time we went to press.

OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN

See Page 5

Brit arrested after tragic death of bouncer at Elliott Wright’s Olivia’s

SPAIN’s largest ever mafia trial was nearly derailed at the end of its first week after one defendant threatened his own lawyer.

One of the 157 accused of drug trafficking in the Campo de Gibraltar told his court-appointed lawyer he would ‘get him in the street.’

The threat, which was made in front of a host of prosecutors, was so intimidating the lawyer immediately resigned from the case and even required medical attention.

As a result, the judge suspended proceedings while a replacement counsel was sought.

Fortunately another defence lawyer agreed to fill in the gap and the trial was able to resume after an hour’s delay.

The mega-trial into the activities of the ‘Los Castañas’ gang, led by the Tejon brothers, is being held in Algeciras and is expected to last at least three months.