The trial against those accused of scamming about 30,000 euros from dozens of parents of a Lanzarote soccer team was adjourned for sentencing this Tuesday, with a request for 3 years in prison by the Prosecutor's Office and 6 years in prison by the private prosecution.
When presenting their conclusions, both parties ratified their initial request, although the Public Ministry introduced an alternative classification of the crime, replacing fraud with misappropriation, but demanding the same penalty.
For its part, the victims' lawyer maintained that it was a crime of aggravated fraud, since she considers that the accused acted with premeditation, collecting money from the parents for the management of a trip that they never managed to organize.
During their statement, the accused did not deny having received these sums, and also admitted that they neither used it for the intended purpose nor have they returned it to the parents seven years later. However, their defenses requested the free acquittal of both.
In the case of Damián Horacio Pueblas Prieto, he placed the responsibility on the other co-defendant, Ivanka Quesada Vizcaíno, pointing out that she was the one who kept the money. For her part, the accused appealed to her alleged gambling addiction to try to justify her attitude.
No evidence to support the alleged illness
During her statement, Ivanka Quesada stated that she spent the parents' money on gambling, blaming what happened on this illness, and denying that there was a prior intention to commit fraud. However, both the Prosecutor's Office and the private prosecution emphasized in their conclusions that she has not provided "a single document" to prove this alleged gambling addiction, and that she did not even allege it during the investigation of the case.
As for her defense, she requested free acquittal and, in case of conviction, requested that this factor be taken into account as a mitigating circumstance.
Regarding the other defendant, both the Prosecutor's Office and the private prosecution consider that he did act in common agreement with her, and believe that his statement corresponds to a common defense strategy.
During the hearing, both denied being a couple, although they currently both reside in Asturias, after having left Lanzarote, where the accused is from.
The trial was scheduled to last four days, although it was finally resolved in just two, as the parties waived the statement of the majority of the witnesses. The private prosecution had summoned all the affected parents, but finally the Court understood that it was not necessary for them to testify, because the payments are sufficiently accredited, and the defendants do not even deny them.
Regarding the total amount, there is a difference between what the Prosecutor's Office and the private prosecution estimate. The first asks that the accused return 27,467 euros to the victims, while the private prosecution raises the figure to 34,353 euros.
In total, there were 43 affected families, although some had more than one child on the team, so they paid double to the accused.
Other victims in Vicálvaro
In addition, another alleged scam against a soccer club in Vicálvaro, which intended to participate in a Summer Tournament in Lanzarote, was being judged in the same hearing. In this case, there were 18 participants and they gave 3,064 euros to the accused, which was supposedly going to be used for registration in the tournament and for accommodation expenses in Lanzarote. In this case, they did not carry out these procedures or return the money to the parents either.
As for the Lanzarote team, they intended to participate in the XXV Edition of the International Soccer Tournament "Donosti Cup", which was to be held from July 3 to 9, 2016 in San Sebastián.
The Lanzarote team was made up of 43 children and young people and the defendants asked for 680 euros per participant to cover both registration and accommodation. Most of the parents faced this payment in three installments, but the children ended up without a trip and seven years later they have not been able to recover the money either.
