The lawyer charged with 555 crimes of forgery to help clients avoid traffic fines was acquitted by a Coimbra court this Thursday but sentenced to a fine of 12,800 euros for making false statements.
The judge realized that a lawyer with offices in Coimbra and Pombal should be convicted of one crime, false statements, while being acquitted of 555 crimes of forgery.
The 40-year-old man was sentenced to pay 40 euros a day for 320 days, amounting to a fine of 12,800 euros.
The Court held that this was a “quite reasonable” amount.
With a specialization in administrative offenses, the lawyer was accused of 555 crimes of forgery and suspicion of “cheating” the system for clients in order to avoid fines for traffic violations.
The defendant will charge 50 euros for the service in which he indicated his name as the violator of the fines transferred to his clients, most of whom were companies, which required a new administrative offense procedure, which in all cases under consideration ended with a statute of limitations no response from the National Office for Road Safety (ANSR).
Rui Silva Leal, the defendant’s lawyer, told reporters at the end of the verdict that “in principle” he would not appeal the decision.
“I asked to justify the crime of forgery, because I understood that there was no intent, no harm to the state, no wrongful advantage, and, in the end, I said that there is no difference between putting the driver’s name there or putting it there someone’s last name,” he concluded.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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