Costa Rica News – Scammers in Costa Rica very often get away with their crimes because, while the Prosecutor’s Office may act ex officio, matters get stuck when the testimony of the victim is lost.
Victims decline to testify for many reasons.
In the last four years, 683 complaints of extortion were received by the Judicial Investigation Agency.
It’s not hard to report extortion but many find it difficult to see the judicial process through.
The situations motivating complaints to desist from continuing are varied. Extortionists often instill fear in their victims with threats or aggression. To avoid a larger problem, the victim often leaves the legal matter half-way. Another possibility is that the suspect stops calling the victim and the victim loses interest in pursuing the matter legally.
The case fails without a testimony. In 2013, for example, only five people were found guilty of this crime. In 2014, there were seven convictions and nine acquittals.
This is after receiving 178 and 155 complaints in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
