Former Ombudsman begins eight-year prison sentence

Former Ombudsman Patricia Portugal spent her first night of an eight-year sentence behind bars on Tuesday, June 20, after the  Office of the Attorney General made effective the conviction of in Plaza Ágora after completing a hearing. She had been sentenced for aggravated embezzlement.

“At the request of the Compliance Section of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the conviction against Patria Portugal Ombudsman, which occurred in 2012, is effective.” The entity reported on social networks.

Officers of the National Directorate of Judicial Investigation arrested the former official after the completion of a hearing requested by the Prosecutor’s Office.

Portugal had been accused of signing two contracts, one for $249,845 and another for $199,983, with companies to redesign the institution’s website.