Judge Adolfo Carretero has issued the order to open the oral trial against Luis Medinason of Naty Abascaly Alberto Javier Luceño for the ‘case of the masks’ in relation to the alleged scam against the Madrid City Council in the sale of medical supplies during the beginning of the pandemic.
This is stated in a car, to which he had access Europa Pressin which an oral trial is opened against Luceño for a continued crime of aggravated fraud, a continued crime of forgery in a commercial document committed by an individual, and a continued crime of forgery in an official document committed by an individual.
Regarding Medina, an oral trial is opened for a continued crime of aggravated fraud and for a continued crime of forgery in a commercial document committed by an individual. The competent body to judge this procedure will be the Provincial Court of Madrid.
Adolfo Carretero’s decision comes after Section 3a of the Provincial Court of Madrid has rejected the latest appeals, thus completely confirming the instruction developed by the magistrate of the Court of Instruction number 47.
Prosecutor Luis Rodríguez Sol has already advanced his indictment in which he requests a sentence of 9 years in prison for Naty Abascal’s youngest son and 15 years in prison in the case of Alberto Luceño.
In the case of Luceño, the prosecutor demands a fine of 5 million, while his partner must pay a fine of 450,000 euros if he is convicted. In addition, it is requested that both compensate the Municipal Company of Funeral Services and Cemeteries of Madrid with almost 8 million euros.
Luis Medina is charged as co-author with a continuing crime of aggravated fraud and another continuing crime of forgery in a commercial document committed by an individual. Luceño is accused of the aforementioned crimes as the author, along with another continued crime of falsification of an official document committed by an individual and another aggravated one against the Public Treasury.
Likewise, the prosecutor requests that Luceño compensate the Tax Agency, in the event that the commissions he obtained in the reported operations are considered to be subject to taxation, in the amount of 1,351,386.29 euros.
The prosecutor considers that it is also appropriate to order the confiscation of the assets currently seized, as well as any others in the possession of the accused up to the amount of 4,623,350.05 euros in the case of Alberto Luceño, and the amount of 912,700 euros, in the case of Luis Medina.
Getting extremely rich
“The intention of both defendants was to enrich themselves exaggeratedly at the expense of the aforementioned situation of extreme need and lack of sanitary materials, selling the products for a price much higher than that offered to them by the suppliers, and this as a consequence of the imposition of exorbitant commissions that were kept hidden from the buyer at all times,” the prosecutor stressed.
Luis Rodríguez Sol insisted that the accused “convinced” the Madrid City Council that they were acting for altruistic reasons, without obtaining any benefit from the operation” despite the million-dollar commissions that were disbursed.
Regarding the bribes, the document stated that the transfers recorded in the case correspond “to the collection of the commissions previously agreed between Leno and the accused, although Luis Medina did not negotiate with Leno the amount of his commission, but rather left the this management in the hands of Alberto Luceño”.
“In this as in the other operations, Alberto Luceño told Luis Medina that they were going to go in equal parts, both receiving the same commission,” says the prosecutor, who adds that to keep him in this belief, he sent him a document in which Both were recognized with a commission of $1 per mask ($1,000,000 in total), and this was the amount that Luis Medina actually charged.
However, according to the prosecutor, “Alberto Luceño hid from Luis Medina that, in another separate document, he had agreed with Leno on an additional commission of $2 per mask; that is, Alberto Luceño charged a total of $3,000,000 as a commission for this operation, triple that of the other accused.
The Prosecutor’s Office maintains in relation to the quality of these masks that “they could not be analyzed in the laboratory with due guarantees because their period of use has expired.”
“However, no evidence has been provided that these masks did not meet the technical conditions of a KN95 mask, comparable to an FFP2 mask, so it can be presumed that they met the specifications stipulated in the contract,” he adds.
Deception to the City Council
In the indictment, Adolfo Carretero maintained that the sales and purchases in which those investigated were involved constitute a case of “legal business criminalized by having deceived the Madrid City Council, fraudulently hiding excessive commissions for any type of business, without having any power.” of the selling company and with falsification of commercial documents”.
Carretero stated that Medina and Luceño “enriched themselves” with this and “harmed” the Municipal Assets in terms of essential goods, such as sanitary materials at the time of the sale “and in amounts exceeding 50,000 euros.” The magistrate also points out that Alberto Luceño “deceived Luis Medina himself in the distribution of commissions” and that he “unilaterally set them.”