During the reading of the judgment, the president of the panel of judges at the São João Novo Court in Porto highlighted that the sentence is suspended for a period of five years and is subject to a probation regime.
Additionally, the magistrate noted the decision to suspend the prison sentence was made taking into account the age of the defendant, 66, and the fact that she is socially and familially integrated.
“I sincerely hope this is a period that won’t be repeated in your life,” stated the judge.
The magistrate recalled that the former president of the mutual association admitted to forging documents and withdrawing money.
“The court found the overwhelming majority of the facts to be proven, with only a discrepancy in the amount,” she emphasized.
The Public Prosecutor’s accusation stated that the defendant had embezzled 224,000 euros, but the latest expert report estimated this amount at 104,000 euros, a sum the defendant must now repay to the association.
The defendant, who served as president and director of services of the public-utility mutual association from 1986 until her dismissal in 2020, was responsible for managing the collection of revenue and payment of expenses, handling bank accounts, storing supporting documents for expenses, and all documentation necessary for accounting.
The accusation claimed that between 2017 and 2019, the defendant appropriated 224,869.80 euros through 38 bank transfers to her personal accounts, 223 cash withdrawals, and the deposit into her accounts or withdrawal at the counter of 63 checks she filled out in the association’s name.
At the start of the trial on April 29, 2024, the defendant, now convicted of aggravated breach of trust and document forgery, admitted to transferring and withdrawing money from the association’s accounts and depositing it into her accounts, denying, however, doing so for “personal benefit,” stating it was instead to pay salaries, general expenses, suppliers, and funeral subsidies.
The former leader acknowledged the way she managed the association’s money was wrong and the result of a “drifting” management but insisted she never acted for personal gain.
