Former San Roque district Justice of the Peace Liliana Mabel González de Bristot will face oral and public trial for alleged misconduct and use of false public documents in the scheme known as the 'Promissory Note Mafia'. The decision was made by Judge Humberto Otazú, specialized in economic crimes, who accepted the indictment ratified by prosecutors Belinda Bobadilla, Jorge Arce, and Leonardi Guerrero.
In addition to the former magistrate, ten other defendants will also go to trial, including court clerks, bailiffs, process servers, and lawyers. Judge Otazú rejected requests for dismissal and exclusion of testimony presented by the defenses, but admitted the exclusion of the statement of former process server Líder Rodrigo Benegas, who is also charged in the case and is awaiting a conditional suspension of proceedings.
According to the prosecution, between 2022 and 2024, collection companies, through their legal representatives, promoted preparatory enforcement actions and judicial executions based on credit instruments, specifically promissory notes without indication of the beneficiary. The scheme allegedly involved an agreement among justices of the peace, clerks, process servers, bailiffs, and lawyers to expedite proceedings, often without notifications to debtors being effectively carried out.
The prosecution alleges that Liliana González de Bristot, while serving as San Roque Justice of the Peace, issued judicial decisions 'violating the law' to favor collection companies, advancing proceedings even though she knew that notifications for signature recognition and filing of objections were not fulfilled. In many cases, final enforcement judgments were allegedly issued, followed by compulsory deductions from debtors' salaries.
The case began in December 2024, based on communications from the Supreme Court of Justice to the Public Ministry and complaints from lawyers and victims. The investigation revealed a modus operandi that included coordinated action among those involved to facilitate fraudulent executions.
During the preliminary hearing, Judge Otazú also ruled against the conditional suspension of proceedings for former process server Líder Rodrigo Benegas, bailiff Paola Vargas, and lawyers Carlos Agüero León, Félix Óscar Gill, and Pedro Olmedo Cano. For bailiff Óscar Frutos, a summary procedure was applied, resulting in a two-year prison sentence suspended for three years, plus a monthly donation of 1 million guaranis to a charitable entity for 36 months.