Federal Oral Court 2 of Córdoba sentenced Jorge Molina Herrera to four and a half years in prison for fraudulent administration. The court also sentenced his predecessor, Gabriel Suárez, to six years and declared him guilty of money laundering involving the union's assets. Both sentences were handed down after maneuvers that directly harmed union members between 2011 and 2019 were proven.
The judges dismissed the existence of a criminal association and considered the maneuvers a single fraudulent act. This decision modified the initial charge, which included money laundering and an alleged systematic criminal plan. The case exposed the lack of internal control in the management of union funds for nearly a decade.
The trial also involved another seven defendants linked to the union's financial structure. Among them are Fernando Navarro, Daniel Lozano, Roque Tapia, and Yanina Molina, daughter of the current head. Investigations detected fund diversions through checks, purchases of assets, and the use of casinos to circulate large sums of money.
A diversion scheme sustained for years
The defendants allegedly transferred millions of pesos (millions of pesos [amount in USD not specified]) to employees, suppliers, and third parties, then returned those amounts to the hands of the leaders. That operation was sustained for years through repeated movements and without adequate controls. The court found it proven that part of the money returned in cash or was laundered through assets.
Navarro, Finance Secretary during much of the period under investigation, was identified as a key figure in the financial circuit. The purchase of vehicles, properties, and casino chips was part of the mechanism to legitimize the funds. That structure allowed a constant flow of money that was never reported to oversight bodies.
