This Monday, the Provincial Court of Madrid sentenced Toño Sanchís, former representative of Belén Esteban, to two years in prison for embezzling more than 400,000 euros from his client. According to the ruling, made public this Monday, Sanchís abused the “full trust” placed in him to charge commissions much higher than the 20% agreed in his contract, diverting part of the income in his favor between 2009 and 2015, years in which they worked together. In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a fine of 2,100 euros on the talk show host and compensation, the amount of which will be determined during the execution of the sentence.
After the conclusion of the trial between her and her former friend, Belén Esteban shared a simple and strong message: “Today is a very happy day for me and my family. They wanted to trample on my dignity, but justice proved me right (again). Thank you very much to my family and to all those people who supported me by giving me strength and love”, she published on her stories on Instagram, a social network on which he has more than a million followers.
The recent history published by the well-known television collaborator on her social network takes on all its weight after being framed in the context of the long and high-profile legal dispute she had with her former representative.
During this trial, Esteban reported that, in addition to a professional relationship, they maintained a close friendship: “It was like part of the family,” he declared in court. For its part, Sanchís’ defense denied having manipulated the agreed commissions, ensuring that those decisions had been made by his wife and that there was verbal consent from his client to change the commission percentage. Something that the judge did not approve, as he agreed with the talk show host, sentencing Sanhís as the perpetrator of a continuous crime of embezzlement to the penalty of two years in prison and six months of fine with a daily rate of 10 euros and to compensation from Esteban. The Court found it proven that he was responsible for the management and administration of Lorant Services Agency SL, being the person who “acquired Belén Esteban as a client, who established a relationship of trust, who negotiated the representation contract and who decided the percentage of the money delivered by the production companies that was to be invoiced in favor of Belén Esteban’s companies, as well as the destination of the unpaid difference, who decided to increase the percentage and dispose of the difference.”
Belén Esteban and her new television program
The collaborator is currently immersed in her next television project after joining the competition Top Chef: Sweet and Famous. In this new program TVE will have as companions, and also rivals, some well-known faces from the small screen such as Natalia Rodríguez, Eva Isanta or Luis Merlo. In total, there will be 12 contestants competing in this culinary talent become the best pastry chef and try to conquer the public.
