Interpol police of Rome and Thailand arrest George Clooney impersonator, Franceso Galdeli who used his name to sell clothes online!
Interpol Police from Rome and Thailand arrested Franceso Galdeli, 58 and Vanja Goffi, 45 in a joint operation. They were on the run since 2013. The couple used to sell clothes in the name of American actor George Clooney and had been residing in Thailand illegally. Franceso had no visa for a stay while his wife Vanja had overstayed her visa limit.
The arrest of Franceso Galdeli and Vanja Goffi
The husband-wife couple is from Italy. Franceso had a jail sentence but had fled the country. His name was on the Interpol list. On this Saturday, the Thai police arrested Franceso on the suspicion that he was residing in the country illegally. They arrested him near the tourist city of Pattaya. His wife Vanja was also checked and the police saw that her visa to reside in the country had long expired. But she had not yet exited the nation.
The operation to arrest the two was a joint operation of the police authorities of Rome and Thailand.
The clothing fraud of Franceso Galdeli and Vanja Goffi
Interpol red alert was issued against Franceso Galdeli and Vanja Goffi since 2013. Franceso was accused of impersonating as American actor George Clooney and selling clothes online under his name. The couple was nicknamed Italian Bonnie and Clyde.
The Italian couple had floated the brand GC Exclusive by George Clooney. George came to know of this fraud and in 2010 he sued the duo for using his name falsely to sell their products online. George said that he had never approved of any affiliation with the brand and that it was a bogus brand. He stated that they were using his name fraudulently. He had also testified against the couple in Italy where the trial was on.
Thailand’s crime suppression division made an official statement on this matter and said:
“During interrogation, Francesco confessed to claiming to be George Clooney and opening a clothes business to trick people into sending money,”
In 2010, Milan Court had sentenced Franceso to 8 years in prison for this crime but he escaped from the country. The police rearrested him in July 2014 at Dusit Thani Hotel in Pattaya but the next day he gave the police a slip. He had paid the prison guards 20k Thai Baht for this escape.
The other crimes of Franceso Galdeli and Vanja Goffi
The criminal couple is on the wanted list in Italy in a number of scams frauds. Their names had figured in these crimes and it included selling fake Rolex watches on the internet. When the unsuspecting customers ordered for these Rolex watches and paid up the advance money for it, Franceso and Vanja used to send packets of salt in its place.
The couple was in Thailand since 2014 and their visas had finished. But despite that, they continued to reside there illegally and had overstayed their visa.
The couple has no lawyer yet and after Thailand immigration department settles on their offense of overstaying their visa, they will extradite the couple to Italy to face the fresh charges there and to open up the old charges against them.
Source: Sky News