They warn in Cesar about a network of scammers for the purchase of land

The department of Cesar is among the territories where the National Land Agency, ANT, warns about a network of scammers, who, taking advantage of the land purchase process for Agrarian Reform, charge money from private owners for the supposed sale of their properties. .

So far this year, the ANT has made more than seven public complaints about cases of alleged scammers, who use the name of the entity to deceive farmers seeking the formalization or allocation of land. The reported cases have occurred in Bolívar, Sucre, Cesar, Risaralda, Santander, Tolima and Antioquia, among other departments.

In this regard, the facts were reported to the Prosecutor’s Office on July 5 by the director of the ANT, Gerardo Vega, and his communications advisor, Ana María Cadavid, under the crimes of personal falsehood, slander and slander, conspiracy to commit a crime and scam, contained in articles 296, 220, 221, 340 and 246 of the Colombian Penal Code. The criminal complaint, addressed to the attorney general, Francisco Barbosa, contains six audio files that correspond to a phone call and five voice messages on WhatsApp delivered as evidence.

THE EVIDENCE

Six audio files linked to the National Land Agency (ANT), on July 4, revealed the existence of a criminal network of alleged fraudsters. One of those involved poses as an emissary of the general director of the ANT, Gerardo Vega Medina, and the entity’s communications advisor, Ana María Cadavid. This is a man who, in a phone call with another member of the criminal network, identifies himself as Jefferson Gómez from the city of Medellín.

In the conversation he claims to be an intermediary for the director and the communications advisor of the ANT. Thus, he makes the owners believe that he is the person authorized to participate in the purchase of their property.

The Agency reminds citizens that this is the only State institution in charge of regularizing rural property in the country and that no association, organization, confederation or natural or legal person has to collect money, request a bonus, or offer benefits in the name of the entity or serve as an intermediary. Likewise, the official channel for people to offer land to the ANT is the WhatsApp line 311 868 1902.

People who have been victims of these scams can report the facts to the Attorney General’s Office. You can also inform the Agency through official channels: the national line 018000-933881; the

line in Bogotá 601 518 5858 option 0, email: [email protected], or the entity’s website www.ant.gov.co on the Report button.

The ANT has also issued alerts about a false Facebook group that uses the Agency’s name on that social network and which to date has nearly 10,000 followers.

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