Renal problems, endometriosis, ruptured breast implants, medical negligence that required hiring a lawyer, illnesses so dire that treatment had to be paid for out of pocket — all were used as pretexts to extract money from the woman who was then her employer. An Austrian woman who has lived in Playa de San Juan since 1990, tending to her ailing husband and treating the accused as if she were a daughter, even transferring 37,900 euros to help her resolve alleged health issues.
The events, dating back to 2013, were brought before the Alicante court this Tuesday. In addition to the principal accused, four other individuals stood trial; her former partner, who was declared in default, was absent. Both the Public Prosecutor and the private prosecution, represented by attorney Miguel Ángel Garijo, allege that they conspired to defraud the complainant.
Testimonies indicated that the trust forged between the supposed patient and the accused was essential to the alleged scheme, a point echoed by prosecutors and witnesses appearing before the Court of the First Section.
During the oral hearing, it was recounted how the principal defendant repeatedly requested sums of money for medical purposes, to the extent that a 22,000-euro debt acknowledgment was signed, supposedly to be repaid through a substantial compensation for a medical negligence incident that she believed she would receive.
Yet the money was not repaid; instead, further demands followed, drawing in other defendants who were friends or relatives of the accused. The Austrian citizen then made transfers believing they were payments to doctors treating the caregiver of her husband, funds she thought were aiding her own recovery from the ailments she suffered.
It all unravelled when a call was made to a Barcelona hospital claiming that the supposed patient was admitted there, only to learn that neither she nor the doctors she named had any connection with the facility. The revelation, sparked by a Facebook discovery of the supposed doctors, sparked the criminal proceedings.
The prosecutor charges a continuing crime of fraud and seeks sentences of up to three years in prison, plus the return of the money with interest. The defense for the principal defendant has argued that the victim failed to notice the crudeness of the deception and has even suggested that, instead of pursuing criminal action, she should have sought civil redress.
[Source: Alicante judicial coverage and court records, as reported in local press; the material is drawn from case details presented in court and corroborated by witness statements.]