Jackson Martínez mocked by evangelical pastor | OneFootball

An evangelical pastor was convicted in Spain for the misappropriation of a donation of nearly 500,000 euros intended for his church, much of which was donated by Jackson Martínez, a former footballer for FC Porto, at the time playing for Atlético Madrid.

After several years of investigation, Tomás G. M. was found guilty of diverting funds from the evangelical church Bautista de Sierra Oeste between 2016 and 2017. The clergyman allegedly used the amount to purchase a car, pay off part of the mortgage on a house in his name, and transferred 260,000 euros to his son, an amount also intended for the purchase of a property.

Although he was not sentenced to prison, the pastor will pay a fine of 3,000 euros. The sentence also includes «a fine of ten months, with a daily rate of ten euros, a special disqualification from the right to passive suffrage during the term of the sentence, the payment of court costs, including those of the private prosecution, and the obligation to compensate the religious entity for the total amount of unrecovered money, plus legal interest».

Jackson Martínez's testimony was decisive in the process. The former striker, who also played for Portimonense, said he discovered the embezzlement in 2020 when community members noticed irregularities in the accounts and found large transfers to the pastor's personal accounts.

«When I learned that [the funds] had not been intended for the church, I demanded the pastor return them, but he did not,» said the former player. The pastor, in turn, denied the accusations, claiming he had Jackson Martínez's authorization to move the donated amount.

As the sentence has not yet become final, the defense may appeal in an attempt to reduce the penalty or obtain acquittal. It is expected that the process will continue and that a definitive decision will be known in the coming weeks.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.