In Warsaw, the "King of Conmen," wanted across Europe, has been arrested

20 September 2024 , 21:29

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In Warsaw, the "King of Conmen," wanted across Europe, has been arrested

Police officers stopped a driver on Puławska Street who had significantly exceeded the speed limit.

During the check, it was revealed that he was wanted under a European arrest warrant. According to unofficial reports, he was the one who invented the "grandchild scam." Arkadiusz L., nicknamed "Hoss," swindled millions from people through fraud.

**Notorious conman caught for speeding**

— Police officers stopped a driver for a check after he exceeded the speed limit on Puławska Street. It turned out that he was wanted under a European arrest warrant issued by the Graz Prosecutor’s Office (Austria). In 2019, a Hamburg court sentenced him to 12.5 years in prison for multiple cases of the so-called "grandchild scam." The people whom the wanted man deceived lost more than 300,000 euros between 2013 and 2015, commented Robert Szumiata, spokesperson for the Warsaw Police Department.

According to unofficial reports, the detainee — Arkadiusz L., nicknamed "Hoss" — swindled large sums from elderly people in Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.

Arkadiusz L. is an authority figure in the world of fraudsters. He likely began his activities in the late 1990s, and over nearly two decades, he fraudulently took several million euros from people.

"Hoss" was first arrested in 2017. The Warsaw Prosecutor’s Office charged him with nine counts. The accused did not plead guilty. In 2023, a court in Poznań delivered the final verdict in his case. The main evidence consisted of recorded phone conversations. German police had recorded, among other things, conversations in the Romani language.

"Hoss" was sentenced to six years in prison.

**The lavish life of the ’king of conmen’**

According to German police, it was "Hoss" who invented the so-called "grandchild scam," which criminals continue to use today. For many years, his life was luxurious: elegant hotels, lavish parties, expensive watches, and cars — the man had it all. The "king of conmen" boasted about driving 250 kilometers per hour while drunk, claimed he only drank the best champagne, was fond of gambling in casinos, and lamented that he once lost 400,000 zloty in a single night.

Arkadiusz L. identified his future victims by outdated names in the phone book, assuming they would be elderly people.

Thomas Brown