A court in Alicante sentenced a 63-year-old woman to two years in prison after a lawsuit alleged that, while employed as an administrative assistant in the civil registry office, she forged registration documents and demanded a fee from immigrants who needed these papers. The case, tied to Gandia City Council, charged that the official produced more than 80 fake registration certificates for sale to immigrants; 21 of those individuals were also tried and received two months of imprisonment.
The Tenth Division court also imposed a nine-month prison term on the defendant’s romantic partner, who was found to have assisted by recruiting foreigners interested in obtaining the certificates and by collecting their documents to facilitate the transactions. The partner offered this service to regular customers visiting the shop in the Gorgos area of the municipality.
The events traced back to 2007 when the woman began working for Gandía City Council. The decision states that she agreed to provide a large number of false registration certificates by fabricating years of residence to show that the foreigners named on the documents had lived in the country for more than three years.
Residence permits
Nevertheless, the judicial ruling notes that it was possible for the relevant parties to approach the Social Affairs offices, where a social worker in the Department of Social Integration Services could issue a report on social roots to support a request for a work and residence permit in the Alicante Immigration Office dormitory. The court emphasizes that the operation was conducted with the involvement of the partner, who was also convicted of the same offenses. The sentence includes the deprivation of liberty for both individuals and combines additional penalties, including seven months of a six-euro daily fine for the first defendant and four months of the same fine for the partner.
In addition, a total of 21 foreigners who obtained these fraudulent records received two months of imprisonment, along with a four-euro fine for two months. These outcomes reflect the court’s stance on document forgery and its serious implications for immigration and social services processes.
Source: Alicante court records and official proceedings. The judgments underscore the importance of integrity within civil registries and the safeguards in place to prevent the misuse of residence documents. The case demonstrates how collaboration between individuals in various roles can undermine public trust and how courts respond with measures that emphasize accountability and deterrence.