Priest arrested over bogus job scheme

A 30-year-old priest from Thessaloniki who is alleged to have swindled tens of thousands of euros from scores of unsuspecting Greeks by promising them jobs that never materialized was detained on Monday on fraud charges along with a 45-year-old unemployed resident of the northern port city.

The pair are alleged to have lured their victims with bogus advertisements for jobs in a scam believed to have been launched in 2009, according to police. Officers are seeking a 40-year-old lawyer who is believed to have worked with the two key suspects.

Police said more than 160 people fell for the scam, noting that four of the victims had relocated abroad – to Germany and Cyprus – only to find that the promised jobs did not exist.