The Barcelona Court orders that the 128 properties that were taken by a scheme of lawyers and notaries be returned to their owners or, failing that, that they be paid the value of the apartment. This is established by the ruling issued by the tenth section, which La Vanguardia has accessed and which details in 559 pages how the properties must be restored to the affected individuals.
Read more Netanyahu orders the Israeli Army to occupy 70% of the Gaza territory
The criminal trial ended with minimal sentences for the accused after reaching a plea agreement with the prosecution. Francisco Comitre, lawyer and leader of the scheme, accepted a sentence of 4 years and 7 months in prison, and notary Enrique Peña, convicted as an accomplice, a sentence of 3 years and 2 months. The accused committed to returning the properties and, if they did not have sufficient assets or money, the insurers would respond on their behalf. This issue led to a trial to determine civil liability, which is resolved with this ruling.
In cases where the apartment has ended up in the hands of third parties in good faith, the accused will have to pay the value of the property
The court considers three scenarios. In the event that the accused still have the property, it orders that it be returned to its rightful owners and, at the same time, that they be paid compensation for the damages caused by the inability to use the apartment. “The victims transferred their assets to the accused as a result of the deceitful trick that constitutes the crime of fraud and such loss must be restored. In cases where the assets are in the possession of the accused or any of the instrumental companies of the criminal activity controlled by them, such restitution (…) can be made by making the assets available,” the chamber explains.
Also read
Another scenario is that the scheme had sold the apartment to a third party in good faith who acquired it without knowing it came from a fraud. In this case, the court orders that the affected parties be paid the value of the property with late payment interest. “When the nullity of the legal transaction does not allow the material or legal recovery of the asset, it must be restored by paying its value.” And it adds that “it will be the value it had at the time it left the victim’s estate.” Finally, there is a third scenario, in which the properties remain in the hands of the accused, but with new encumbrances, whether debts or mortgages. The court orders the apartment to be returned to the affected parties and that the accused assume the payment of those encumbrances.
The events occurred between 2009 and 2015, when a scheme of lawyers and notaries took advantage of their good appearance and apparent respectability to offer elderly people attractive financial products for their retirement, such as reverse mortgages or lifetime usufructs that allowed them to supplement their pension. However, according to the ruling, “the fraudulent economic purpose guiding the actions of the said accused was to definitively take full ownership of their clients’ properties without paying any economic consideration or paying an amount far below market value.”
The insurance companies must pay the value of the properties in case the accused cannot respond. The court considers that civil liability policies must apply in this case because the lawyers and notaries committed the crime within the scope of their professional practice. “The crimes were committed, among other reasons, because the victims placed their trust in their professional practice as a lawyer and as a notary, and the insured did not meet (…) the minimum standard that corresponded to them.”
Read more The Government passes the pension exam again and will not have to raise contributions
