A former employer, once profiting from projects he did not complete, lived a life of luxury with his Romanian girlfriend, traveling to Punta Cana, Paris, or London. He used funds from clients who had paid for work that never appeared, leaving them with unfinished renovations. His ex-wife received no support, and at one point he faced consequences for domestic violence. After entering the prison system, he claimed a gender change, adopting the name María José, arguing that as a woman he could not be guilty of gender-based violence. He also accused his former workers of discrimination and homophobia, although those workers insist they never used the insults he attributes to them. Meanwhile, clients who felt cheated prepared legal actions to recover their money.
As a child, he described being mistreated at school but said it would not happen again. One former employee, a resident of Oviedo, claimed that the former boss had forced him to sign an independent contractor agreement. When he later sought payment, a dispute escalated to a physical fight, resulting in a court-ordered fine of 160 euros. The same individual later faced a separate accusation and had to post 2,600 euros to cover criminal responsibilities. A former employee recalled hearing critiques about him being accused of gender-related issues, and others recounted similar stories of debt recovery, with some alleging threats and verbal insults that were never uttered by the workers themselves. The man once identified himself as Chema and boasted about intimate details with his Romanian partner.
Another former site manager claimed workers were left without proper protections, paid under the table, and cast as lazy or unreliable. He recalled taking sick leave and being told by José María and his lawyer that he left of his own accord, resulting in a loss of unemployment benefits. He faced additional accusations over a misplaced ladder, while others were accused of showing up to work under the influence. It is claimed that seven ex-employees faced charges of homophobia from him.
Clients and victims of José María, now María José, prepared lawsuits for being left with unfinished homes or renovations. One woman from outside Asturias paid more than 30,000 euros in advance to fix a house in the region. When she confronted his Romanian partner about the uncompleted work, she was told he was in a hospital coma, a claim that later appeared to be untrue. The architect refused to relinquish the project until payment was made.
Other accounts describe further disputes, including a lender to a fundraiser who did not receive promised results and a panera renovation that went awry for another client. A different victim revealed that the man was jailed in mid-May, and a lawyer warned that no money would be recovered. He was found through an online portal and described as someone who preyed on people’s hopes and needs, charming them into believing a favorable outcome was possible. The overall impression left by these testimonies is of a person who manipulated trust and avoided accountability, with many seeking legal remedies to prevent further harm.