A Castellón court has sentenced a legal advisor to two years in prison for payroll fraud. She manipulated salaries at a ceramics firm, diverting nearly €58,000 to her own account. The sentence includes a fine and suspended jail time.
A legal advisor in Castellón has been sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to orchestrating a payroll fraud scheme that siphoned nearly €58,000 from a ceramics company over three years. The Provincial Court found that, between 2018 and 2021, the advisor systematically inflated the salaries of several employees, then redirected the excess funds to her own bank account.
The court ruling, issued by the First Section of the Audiencia Provincial de Castellón, followed a plea agreement. The advisor, who had provided legal services to the company since 2016, was responsible for preparing monthly payroll documents using specialized software. According to the judgment, she exploited this position by artificially increasing certain employees’ salaries in the payroll templates submitted to management. The manipulated documents were then sent to the company’s bank, authorizing transfers that included both legitimate employee payments and additional sums directed to her personal account.
The total amount diverted through this method reached €57,757. The court classified her actions as a continuous offense of falsifying commercial documents in conjunction with aggravated fraud. In addition to the prison sentence, the advisor was fined €1,080 and ordered to pay court costs. However, the sentence also recognized mitigating factors, including undue delays in the proceedings and her confession. As a result, the court suspended the execution of the prison term, provided she does not reoffend within the next four years.
The fraud came to light in June 2021, when the advisor admitted her actions in an email to the company. This admission prompted the firm to file a formal complaint, and she later reiterated her confession during judicial proceedings. Notably, the affected company has chosen not to pursue restitution for the diverted funds in this case. The verdict, as published by the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunidad Valenciana, is final and cannot be appealed.
Payroll fraud remains a significant risk for Spanish businesses, particularly in sectors where internal controls are weak or a single individual manages salary processes. According to Spain’s Ministry of Labour, digital payroll systems have reduced some risks but also introduced new vulnerabilities. In recent years, courts across Spain have seen a rise in cases involving internal fraud and document falsification, underscoring the importance of regular audits and clear separation of duties within companies. The Castellón case highlights how trusted professionals can exploit access to financial systems, and why oversight remains critical even in longstanding business relationships.
