A man pretending to be a member of the aristocracy and an army officer has been arrested in Almeria for allegedly conning more than 200,000 euros from rich elderly women.

Going under the immensely long name of Jose Antonio Espinosa de los Monteros y Jimenez Diaz, the man is also facing charges of fraud, identity theft and threatening behaviour.

After one of the victims reported him to the local authorities, investigators pieced together a story of a man who using forged identity papers would make contact with older wealthier women who lived alone. He would then gain their trust with gifts and invitations, and once this was done he started requesting money from the women.

Police, after speaking with one of the victims, discovered he would identify himself as son of the Marquis de Pastrama and also claimed he was a member of the armed forces, sometimes wearing a military uniform to add to his claims.

He also said to some of the victims that he was suffering from a critical illness and only had a short time to live. When he showered gifts on his victims, he would gain the trust of shopkeepers with his claims of aristocracy, promising but then failing to pay for the gifts at a later date.

The investigation is still on going as the police are convinced that there are more victims of this con that have yet to come forward.