Villalobos Read Details of Sentence

Businessman Osvaldo Villalobos appeared in a San José court last Friday to hear judges read him the fine print of his 18-year prison sentence for fraud and illegal financial intermediation.

Villalobos was convicted last month in a long-awaited trial that began in February (TT,May 18). Still at large is his fugitive brother, Luis Enrique Villalobos, the alleged kingpin of the siblings’ San José-based investment scheme known as “The Brothers.” The operation, which shut down in late 2002, attracted hundreds of millions of dollars from mostly foreign investors.

Defense attorney Juan Tovar told The Tico Times that the defense plans to appeal Osvaldo’s sentence, and has 30 business days from June 8 in which to do so.