In Alicante, the Board of Directors of the Social Alumni College reached a formal decision on January 24 to expel the former president, Francisco Javier Méndez Jara. He had previously served as an enforcement member following a penalty imposed by the District Court for diverting a substantial sum from university accounts, amounting to nearly 400,000 euros. Court records indicate that this money was allocated from university funds without proper authorization.
In June 2022, a court sentenced Méndez Jara to eleven months in prison for ongoing embezzlement. The legal proceedings continued into the following year, and in July Méndez Jara received the same eleven-month sentence after the court did not grant a stay of execution. He did not pay any of the compensation that exceeded 342,000 euros as determined by the sentence, according to the judicial decision.
The board’s decision to expel Méndez Jara as a member was officially announced after the expiry of all statutory appeal deadlines. The expulsion was grounded in Article 87 of the General Regulations of Official Social Graduate Schools, which specifies that committing intentional crimes that involve any degree of participation in the exercise of the profession constitutes grounds for serious disciplinary action.
Spread across the country
At the same meeting, authorities decided to inform the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain about the decision. This notice is part of an effort to standardize professional oversight by communicating the disciplinary measure to other schools nationwide.
During the same week, the General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain reported that the president of the Alicante College had sent correspondence about the sanction. The general council forwarded this professional disqualification to all state presidents to enable them to consider preventive measures. The action extended membership restrictions on Francisco Javier Méndez Jara beyond the Alicante branch.
Méndez Jara has another legal case on the docket and has faced multiple postponements in connection with a separate matter involving the seizure of more than 100 pieces of cash. Reports indicate that approximately 90,000 euros, which were funds intended for workers represented by Méndez Jara as a lawyer and social graduate, relate to the Wage Guarantee Fund program. Court records cite these details as part of ongoing proceedings and related investigations.