A woman was sentenced by the Murcia Provincial Hearing to return more than 67 thousand euros to Spanish Social Security and pay a fine of more than 52 thousand euros, after having unduly received her mother’s widow’s pension for more than 12 years.
In total, according to Noticias Trabajo, a Spanish website specializing in labor and legal matters, the defendant appropriated 104,056 euros between October 2007 and October 2019. Part of this amount, around 36 thousand euros, was recovered directly by the entity from the bank where the pension was deposited.
The decision, now confirmed, highlights the seriousness of the case and reinforces the responsibility of financial institutions in controlling social benefits.
Twelve years of fraud and silence
According to , the defendant’s mother died in 2007, but the daughter chose not to report the death to the National Social Security Institute (INSS), allowing the pension payment to continue to be made.
The money was transferred to a bank account in which the woman appeared as co-owner, which allowed her to freely move the funds over more than a decade.
The scheme was only discovered in 2019, when one of the defendant’s brothers informed the INSS about their mother’s death. The complaint triggered an investigation that revealed the undue payments and led to the opening of a criminal case for fraud against Social Security.
Fine and bank liability
The sentence was not limited to sentencing the woman. The court also declared the subsidiary civil liability of Banco Cajamar, which for 12 years continued to make payments without verifying the “proof of life” of the pension holder.
According to the publication, the Spanish Court recalls that financial institutions have a legal obligation to annually confirm the survival of beneficiaries, in accordance with the Order of February 22, 1996, article 17, no. 5.
The absence of these controls allowed the scheme to continue for more than a decade without any detection. The court therefore understood that, if the convicted woman does not return the amount due, the bank will have to pay it.
The woman was ordered to repay 67,940 euros and pay an additional fine of 52,028 euros, and was also prevented from benefiting from any support, subsidy or public benefit for four years.
The framework in Portugal
In Portugal, similar cases are classified as fraud or abuse of trust against Social Security, provided for in articles 106 and 107 of the General Regime of Tax Offenses (Law no. 15/2001). The penalty can be up to three years in prison or a fine, and up to five years in the case of qualified fraud, according to article 104 of the same law.
Portuguese rules also require the return of all payments unduly received, but there is no general obligation for banking institutions to communicate the death of holders. This responsibility lies with the head of the couple, who must report the death to the Finance Department by the end of the third month following the death.
Banks act only after being notified, blocking accounts and following Banco de Portugal’s instructions for the inheritance process. Even so, Social Security has been reinforcing data crossing with the Civil Registry and other entities to prevent similar cases of fraud.
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