Valerie Dominguez’ former mother-in-law testified against her Tuesday, saying the woman who once held the Miss Colombia crown also embezzled money from the state.
Maria Fernandez testified Tuesday that her former daughter-in-law had been “very happy” to receive the government funds, according to Colombian media — and that she didn’t want to give them back.
In July 2011, Dominguez was indicted for embezzlement and document falsification for her alleged role in a scandal involving a agricultural subsidy program that was meant for low-income farmers but instead ended up in the pockets of wealthy families. According to the prosecution, more than $100,000 of those subsidies went to Dominguez, who has no connection to agriculture or to rural farmers.
Dominguez “signed a lot of papers” relating the subsidies, Fernandez testified, adding that her relationship with Dominguez ended after the Prosecutor General officially charged Dominguez in February 2011.
Dominguez on Monday denied the charges against her, claiming that she’d been deceived by her ex-boyfriend Juan Manuel Davilo, who told her to sign the government documents. She returned the money she’d received to the state, but the prosecution continued to press charges.
The subsidy scandal sparked criminal investigations against a number of wealthy families in the north, as well as against the former Minister of Agriculture who was sent to jail while awaiting trial for allegedly embezzling $25 million to raise political support.