Two people from the province of Cordoba could be sentenced to three years in prison on charges of fraud in the sale of oranges. According to the prosecution, when the orange season arrived, one of the two defendants would register as a partner at a cooperative in order to 'put forward an appearance of solvency'. He would then meet with the other defendant, a former associate of the same cooperative, who would act as a broker and would put the former defendant in contact with the farmers.
The defendants would claim that if they were unable to make the payments, the entity they were supposed to represent would make them.
In total, they received from different companies and farmers more than 686,600 kilograms of oranges worth more than 238,190 euro that they did not pay. Of the fruit acquired, only a small part was correctly sent for processing and marketing, while the rest was diverted to other companies or to their own headquarters.
The Prosecutor's Office has asked the Provincial Court to sentence the defendants to three years in prison and a fine of 10 euro per day for nine months for these crimes. The ministry has charged these two individuals with fraud.
Source: diariocordoba.com