A couple has been convicted of a continuing fraud offense to a sentence of one year in prison and the payment of compensation exceeding 5,000 euros, after organizing a fictitious wedding in Verín (Ourense) and failing to pay for several services contracted for the celebration.
The parties reached an agreement this past Wednesday in Courtroom Number 2 of the Criminal Division of the Ourense Court, which allowed for a reduction in the initial request of the Prosecutor's Office, which sought three years in prison.
According to the account of events, between July 30 and October 10, 2021, the defendants contracted various services related to their alleged marriage, acting with the intention of profit and "with no intention of paying for them" because they "lacked the economic capacity."
Unpaid Contracts for the Fake Wedding
On July 30, 2021, the defendants commissioned the making of two wedding dresses and one for the godmother for a total of 2,804.75 euros. At that time, they only paid 1,204.75 euros, promising to pay the rest after the wedding, "knowing that they were not going to do so."
A few days later, on August 3, they repeated the same modus operandi by contracting the wedding banquet at a restaurant in the Ourense municipality of A Mezquita, for an amount of 3,736.69 euros. They only paid an advance of 1,500 euros and left the remaining 2,236.69 euros unpaid.
Later, on October 4 of the same year, the couple finalized the contract for a photographic report valued at 1,300 euros, "without having paid any amount" once the work was completed.
Finally, on October 10, the date on which the wedding was supposedly to take place, the now convicted individuals requested floral arrangements for a price of 700 euros, generating a new debt that "has not been paid at any time."