A Córdoba police officer with his back turned next to a patrol vehicle — The corporal was charged as the perpetrator of repeated fraud, attempted fraud, and double aggravated theft | La Derecha Diario

Camara — The corporal was charged as the perpetrator of repeated fraud, attempted fraud, and double aggravated theft | La Derecha Diario

Córdoba: police officer who stole from detainees was sentenced to one and a half years in prison

Corporal First Class Ignacio Matías Barrionuevo, 38 years old, will have to serve the sentence in prison

28/08/2025 12:51:00h

Editorial Team

In another case of police corruption, First Corporal of the Córdoba Police, Ignacio Matías Barrionuevo, 38 years old, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for stealing detainees' belongings during his daily duties.

The case was processed in Tribunales II of Córdoba.

Barrionuevo had been detained for more than five months in Bouwer prison and now must serve one more year behind bars.

Two Córdoba police officers with their backs turned patrol a tree-lined street with parked cars.

The corporal was charged as the perpetrator of repeated fraud, attempted fraud, and double aggravated theft | La Derecha Diario

The corporal was charged as the perpetrator of repeated fraud, attempted fraud, and doubly aggravated theft.

He will no longer wear the uniform, as he himself acknowledged during the proceedings.

His partner, Raquel Elizabeth Roldán (36), also acknowledged her responsibility in the summary trial.

She was sentenced to one year of suspended imprisonment as a co-perpetrator of several frauds.

This condition leaves her free, although under strict rules: she must comply with a series of judicial obligations.

The modus operandi of the Córdoba police officer

Barrionuevo worked at the 8th police station, in Patricios neighborhood, in the northeastern area of Córdoba's capital.

There he was supposed to perform guard duties and safeguard the belongings of detainees.

However, as was proven, he took advantage of that privileged access to appropriate personal and banking data of those arrested.

At night, he would go through wallets and documents that were under official custody, take photos of cards and documents with his cell phone, and send them via WhatsApp to his partner.

She, from her home, made online purchases, transfers to virtual wallets, and phone top-ups.

In some cases, the frauds were carried out, and the victims ended up paying for someone else's expenses.

In others, the attempts were thwarted by banking security measures. However, all the episodes added up to evidence that turned out to be overwhelming.

The detail that most caught the investigators' attention was that some of the photos sent to Roldán had the police station's guard book as a background, a recklessness that made it clear that the data had been obtained inside the police facility.

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