The story of “Lord Alejandro”: a Colombian and his mother are accused of defrauding about 300 thousand dollars by posing as the grandson of a Spanish duke

With a lot of “talk” and a showy life, a man from Medellín, Colombia, managed to “deceive and deceive” about 20 people into believing that he belonged to the Duchy of Cardona, Spain.

He, allegedly with his mother, came up with the scam strategy that the whole neighboring country is talking about today, where they do not stop comparing it to that of the Tinder scammer.

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lord alexander

In Colombia, Manuel Alejandro Estrada Cardona is accused of “defrauding” 18 citizens of an amount ranging from 1,300 to 1,500 million pesos (equivalent to $300,000).

He introduced himself as Lord Alexander and “claimed so his grandfather Venancio Cardona It came from the duchy and had arrived in Colombia after the civil war, first through Costa Rica and Panama,” says Infobae.

This is how he, posing as the grandson of a duke, Kelly Córdoba and Andrés Vasco, met two of his at least 18 victims.

scam two lawyers

Kelly Córdoba is a lawyer and in 2019 she was a professor at the University of Medellín. In August of that year, he started this story with Lord Alejandro, which was told on the Radio Ambulante podcast.

Estrada Cardona approached Córdoba and introduced him to his mother, Olga Cardona, who reportedly had “a legal problem regarding medical liability”.

Córdoba told them that her husband could help them better. “She made an appointment with the law firm where her husband, Andrés Vasco, worked. The Cardonas came and exposed a negligence in a medical procedure,” Semana explains.

A few days later, Manuel Alejandro “began revealing details about his supposed private life related to royalties”.

In addition, he was interested in opening a food business. For Córdoba, “Manuel Alejandro and his mother were interested in solving the case. In addition, she legally advised the young man in his desire to set up a health food business.

A client with problems was “Lord Alejandro”

The legal process continued “and then another appeared: a problem with the owner of the property they rented.”

The lawyer couple did not hesitate to support Alejandro. The press reports that Kelly and her husband represented the man “because he was a client who tended to get into trouble and helping him would bring economic benefits to the company”.

In addition, the Cardonas were punctual with the respective payments, Semana notes.

With “friendship” and to thank them for their support, Alejandro and his mother “began to invite lawyers to social gatherings in prestigious places.”

In these conversations, mother and son told their grandfather’s story, related to the Spanish dukedom and inheritance.

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The Depression”

The man “went to live in the United States for a while, where he bought clothes to take to Colombia and distribute them with a partner.”

As the business failed to prosper, in the midst of a pandemic, he “fell into a depression”. And his mother sought out the lawyer for “emotional support for her son.”

Even before the point of clothing distribution, “lawyer couple Estrada Cardona had borrowed nearly $6,000 for their business.”

In Europe, the warnings were activated in parallel. They began to watch Estrada Cardona, especially in his finances.

In the meantime, the Cardonas took some distance.

The mother and son informed the lawyers that “the Spanish authorities confirmed that the inheritance of 900,000 euros of the man from Antioquia could be executed. Searching for the money in different ways, Córdoba and Vasco made their way to Spain. However, the hearing in which the money was to be handed over was postponed.

In addition, “the lawyers began to feel that they were being watched”.

Discovered the scam

Communication was more difficult and excuses to pay were more common. The lawyers decided to go to court in Spain, “where they confirmed that neither the legacy nor the story was real.”

The Cardonas suspected that the lawyers had found out about the fraud and disappeared.

On the total of “duped” in Medellín, they took about 300 thousand dollars in 5 years. It is assured that the man already has complaints with the Public Prosecution Service.