The Provincial Court of Bizkaia has imposed a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 1,080 euros on the owner of an English academy in Bilbao for having deceived 13 families with a supposed summer course in Ireland that ultimately did not take place.
In a final ruling of conformity, the court agrees to suspend the execution of the prison sentence for two years, provided that during that time he does not commit any crime again and that, in addition, he pays within two months the amount set for moral damages.
The ruling states that it has been proven that the convicted person ran an English academy in Bilbao in 2019 and that he offered families from two academies in Barakaldo an organized trip to Ireland, scheduled for July of that same year, with the aim of improving their children's language skills.
The accused held several meetings with the parents of the students and, with "the intention of obtaining an illicit financial benefit, made the interested parties believe that he would take care of organizing the trip" of the minors to Dublin, as well as the stay with host families.
In total, 13 families made different payments that totaled 37,050 euros. However, the court considers it proven that the defendant "never had the intention of planning said trip" and that on July 1, 2019, one day before the scheduled departure date, he sent a WhatsApp message to the parents informing them of the cancellation of the course.
From that moment on, the victims were no longer able to contact him by any means. The man had closed the academy and had kept the money that the families had deposited in his bank account.
The resolution also details that, on July 14, 2026, the accused deposited 37,500 euros to cover the civil liability arising from the crime, which has allowed the application of the mitigating factor of damage repair. In addition to the prison sentence and the financial fine, the Court establishes that, for moral damages, he must pay each family a compensation of 500 euros.
Finally, the court reiterates the suspension of the deprivation of liberty sentence for two years, conditioned on the fact that the convicted person does not commit another crime during that period and pays within two months the amount established for moral damages.