Former Nayarit Governor Roberto Sandoval Castañeda (2011-2017) was sentenced to seven years in prison for general document forgery, in the form of using a false document, for appropriating a 58-hectare plot of land in the Aután ejido (common land), municipality of San Blas.
The sentence was issued in the first instance, so it can still be appealed to higher courts.
Why did Roberto Sandoval falsify documents?
Sandoval has been in prison since June 6, 2021, and was released for this case in July of the same year, as the time served will be discounted from his sentence.
Regarding the case, it was revealed that the former governor used a forged document to claim the property belonging to Rubén “N” in 2012.
Later, while serving as governor, he was officially registered as an ejidatario (communal landowner) in 2012, which allowed him access to three properties, including the one in question.
According to the institution, “the convicted man used a forged document to appropriate a property in San Blas, affecting the victims’ assets and violating the law.”
In addition to prison, Sandoval must pay a fine of 70 Units of Measurement and Update (UMA) and repair the damages, the amount of which will be determined at the enforcement stage.
Although the parties had reached a reparation agreement, the Prosecutor’s Office decided to continue the proceedings ex officio after recognizing the damage caused.
The former governor also faces two other criminal proceedings and will remain incarcerated in the El Rincón federal prison in Tepic, Nayarit.
One relates to the alleged misappropriation of public funds through the Food Insurance Program (PROSA), through which he allegedly instructed a former official to favor the PRI’s 2017 campaign.
The other case involves the misuse of funds from the Investment and Reinvestment Fund for the Creation and Support of Social Enterprises of the State of Nayarit (FIRCAES), amounting to 82,914,638 pesos.
Although a Collegiate Court annulled the pretrial detention in 2023, Sandoval remains in prison due to ongoing federal proceedings, including the money laundering case and the investigation into the PROSA program.
Roberto Sandoval Castañeda’s administration was marked by a series of accusations against individuals who claimed to be victims of alleged theft of property and other assets.
He, along with former Nayarit prosecutor Edgar Veytia, was accused of being responsible for these robberies, as well as alleged threats, forced disappearances, and other crimes.
The progress of another dozen investigation files that the head of the State Attorney General’s Office, Petronilo Díaz Ponce Medrano, had said he had against the former president is currently unknown.
Source: elfinanciero
