In Buenos Aires, on December 27, a provincial court in Río Negro declared three men criminally responsible for fraudulent administration linked to a charity raffle organized by the local Volunteer Firefighters in Barda del Medio.
The case centered on the "Gran bono contribución" raffle held from March to September 2021, intended to raise funds for a fire truck, supplies, and materials for the barracks.
The raffle used tickets with ten installments, each worth $1,000 monthly, and 2,500 tickets were printed. 1,778 were sold, generating a minimum estimated revenue of 8,317,000 pesos. However, part of the money could not be justified, totaling 3,021,483 pesos in 2021, equivalent to about 59 million in current values.
One of the defendants ran the raffle from the board, while the others handled operational management. All parties benefited from undue profit by not registering or depositing the collected money, failing to provide receipts, and operating without authorization from the oversight body.
The defense argued that the acts were due to administrative disorder and lack of institutional controls, requesting absolution or mitigated penalties.
The sentencing hearing is still pending.
"La defensa argumentó que los hechos respondieron a un desorden administrativo y falta de controles institucionales, y solicitó la absolución de los acusados o, alternativamente, la imposición de penas atenuadas."
