Unprecedented Trial of Francisco Sánchez: Ex-Municipal Leader of Atacama Convicted for Fraud

Original article: La inédita trama del juicio a Francisco Sánchez, ex intendente de Atacama, condenado como autor del delito de Estafa Unprecedented Trial of Francisco Sánchez: Ex-Municipal Leader of Atacama Convicted for Fraud A fraudulent scheme operated from 2014 and continued even after Sánchez took office as the regional governor during Sebastián Piñera’s second term. The total amount defrauded exceeded 218 million pesos. His accomplice, Rodrigo Albornoz, the accountant and collaborator of Sánchez, was also convicted for complicity in the fraud.

The journey to achieve these convictions was unusual and fraught with obstacles. The final sentence will be announced along with the complete ruling on May 15. Sánchez faces a potential prison sentence of 4 years, while Albornoz may serve 818 days.

By Investigation Team at El Ciudadano On Tuesday, April 21, the much-anticipated verdict in a case that unfolded over seven years and sparked a significant scandal in Atacama was announced. Sánchez, appointed governor in July 2018, and previously the manager of the mining company Atacama Kozan, faced allegations of orchestrating a massive fraud over the years. It was claimed that he had implemented a fraudulent scheme that deceived Japanese partners by inflating the company’s expenses with extravagant sums that, in reality, funded his luxury personal expenditures.

To establish and operate this fraud, Sánchez enlisted the help of his trusted accountant at the company, Rodrigo Albornoz, who not only facilitated the misappropriation of company funds but also aided in falsifying financial statements to mask personal expenses as construction projects, creating the illusion of a financially healthy company. This allowed the fraud to go undetected by the owners or the Japanese manager, from whom they secured illegal payments in Sánchez’s favor. Although the defendants did not testify during the trial and their defenses denied the existence of such events, after nearly two months of hearings at the Oral Criminal Court of Copiapó, a guilty verdict against Sánchez for fraud exceeding 218 million pesos was delivered, along with a conviction of Albornoz as Sánchez’s accomplice for the same offense.

This ruling came after the court heard from over a dozen witnesses and experts, as well as reviewed hundreds of documents presented by the private accusers to substantiate their case. This concludes a process fraught with controversies and has raised serious doubts and criticisms regarding the work of the Public Ministry of Atacama under former regional prosecutor, Alexis Rogat. An Unusual Investigation Despite extensive investigations by the Public Ministry, which gathered abundant information as observed in the hearings where charges against Sánchez and Albornoz were formally presented and re-presented, they unexpectedly announced their «decision not to pursue» the case, indicating insufficient evidence to sustain a trial against the defendants.

This decision involved regional prosecutor Alexis Rogat, who signed the resolution that authorized this outcome. In response, the lawyers for Atacama Kozan utilized a legal provision that allows aggrieved parties to request a court’s permission to proceed with their own case in the absence of the Public Ministry. The court needed to analyze the case’s details to determine if it was «plausible» to bring the defendants to trial, and if so, the corresponding authorization would be granted.

However, this option had limitations, as if the court permitted the case to move forward without the Public Ministry, the plaintiffs could only accuse based on the same facts presented during the prior investigation as determined by the prosecution. In this case, this limitation proved significant, as the Atacama Kozan attorneys claimed and provided evidence during the trial to substantiate a fraud that extended from 2014 to 2018, amounting to 9 billion pesos and involving 10 suppliers. Yet, the prosecution only formally charged Sánchez and Albornoz in 2018 for fraud of 218 million pesos involving four suppliers, thus precluding further claims for the overall fraud.

Ultimately, the Copiapó Court accepted the plaintiffs’ request to pursue Sánchez and Albornoz to trial without the Public Ministry, finding sufficient merit. This decision received unanimous support from the Copiapó Court of Appeals and even from the Supreme Court, which resolved numerous requests for dismissal, appeals, and even a protective order presented on behalf of the defendants. However, the case continued to face controversies, notably regarding the preparation hearing, where eligible evidence was decided over several months due to numerous requests from Sánchez and Albornoz’s defenses, including requests to disqualify the presiding judge in the middle of the proceedings.

The case was eventually sent to the Oral Criminal Court, where it was initially anticipated that the trial would commence smoothly, which was not the eventual outcome. The Medical Leave and the «Atacama Miracle» The Oral Criminal Court in Copiapó received case files to schedule the trial against Sánchez and Albornoz for December 2024. In this context, it was decided that the trial should begin on Monday, September 1, 2025, nine months later.

However, on the scheduled date, it was revealed that the lawyer for the defendant Rodrigo Albornoz, Patricio Pinto Castro, presented a medical leave for 20 days. Consequently, the Copiapó Oral Criminal Court accepted the suspension request and set a new start date of October 13, 2026, a delay of over a year. The unusual occurrence followed, referred to as the “Atacama miracle” in judicial circles.

The medical leave submitted by attorney Pinto Castro mandated a «workrest for 20 days,» according to his own submission to the Copiapó Oral Criminal Court, indicating the rest would extend until September 20, inclusive. Despite this, on September 10, 2025, attorney Patricio Pinto Castro appeared in perfect health as a defense attorney in a lengthy 5-hour hearing in the case of the Fundación Comprometidos, investigated by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office of Atacama, which is part of the broader “Convenios Case” or “Foundations Case,” investigating irregularities in the transfer and execution of public funds to non-profit organizations in northern Chile. This situation raised suspicions that Pinto’s claim of an alleged illness, which triggered the Oral Court’s decision to delay the trial against Sánchez for over a year, might have been a maneuver to prevent the public airing of Sánchez’s irregularities during a time when Rafael Prohens, a close associate of Sánchez, was seeking re-election as a senator for the Atacama region.

Ultimately, Prohens lost, receiving one of the historically lowest national voter percentages at 3. 37%. A request from Atacama Kozan’s lawyers prompted the Oral Court to refer the details regarding the attorney’s medical leave to the Public Ministry for potential criminal investigation, although it remains unclear what actions the prosecution has taken regarding these incidents as of this date.

Start of the Trial and Turbulent Developments The rescheduling of the trial by more than a year and two months due to a medical leave sparked numerous criticisms and challenges. In this context, the Oral Court decided to advance the trial’s start date to February 24, 2026, the day it finally commenced. During the trial, multiple witnesses, experts, and hundreds of documents were presented as evidence, extending over nearly two months.

However, its proceedings were not without peculiarities. One witness in the case, Enrique Herrera, who allegedly played a significant role in the events, simply failed to appear to testify, despite being notified. This led to four arrest warrants issued against him, which could not be executed as he was not located at any of his residences.

Moreover, after more than a month into the trial, one of the three judges serving on the tribunal had to withdraw due to being appointed as a substitute minister on the Copiapó Court of Appeals. This left only two of the three judges in the trial panel. While this scenario is not usual practice, it is provided for by law, establishing the requirement that any ruling must be unanimous; otherwise, the trial is nullified and must be repeated with different judges.

Conviction and Questions Surrounding Former Regional Prosecutor Alexis Rogat In a unanimous ruling announced last Tuesday, the Copiapó Oral Criminal Court rendered a guilty verdict against both defendants: Sánchez was found guilty of committing fraud against Atacama Kozan, resulting in a loss of $218,603,362, while Rodrigo Albornoz was convicted as an accomplice. The accusers sought a sentence of 4 years of effective imprisonment for Sánchez and 818 days for Albornoz. The final sentence will be announced along with the full ruling on May 15.

Obtaining such substantial convictions in a fraud case where the victim proceeded against the defendants without the Public Ministry is not common, which has drawn attention to the prosecution’s actions, particularly former regional prosecutor Alexis Rogat. The controversial decision not to proceed with the case was made by the then regional prosecutor, Alexis Rogat Lucero, who left his position in 2024. Rogat has publicly stated that the decision was based on a “technical determination” after analysis by a team of lawyers experienced in economic crimes, whose names he has never disclosed.

Many doubt this explanation, highlighting that given the highly hierarchical nature of the entity, his signature on the decision not to pursue indicates it was ultimately his choice. The argument was that the acts fell under the crime of “breach of trust,” which was only established in 2018, after its occurrence, mirroring the claims made by the defenses in their early attempts for the case to be dismissed. However, the plaintiffs provided the prosecution with legal opinions from criminal law professors at the University of Chile, Miguel Soto Piñeiro and Juan Pablo Mañalich, asserting that these acts constituted fraud, precisely the charges upon which Sánchez and Albornoz were prosecuted and ultimately convicted.

In this context, it has been noted that months after leaving the prosecution, Rogat began working on private cases with attorney Patricio Pinto Castro, who has defended Sánchez’s accomplice, Rodrigo Albornoz. Additionally, Rogat is listed in the credits of the magazine owned by Francisco Sánchez, Atacama Viva, as one of the publication’s collaborators, raising eyebrows as this medium was cited in the guilty verdict as one of the mechanisms Sánchez used to defraud Atacama Kozan. This has drawn concern from various individuals linked to the case, noting Rogat’s presence at least once during the oral trial.

As El Ciudadano has observed, it is evident that this case transcends the individual circumstances of Sánchez and Albornoz, raising numerous questions about how the Public Ministry operates and the criminal prosecution system in Chile, particularly when it involves defendants in positions of power in the regions.