The Dominican friar Martín Alexis González will sit in the dock next November after the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested five years in prison for him for the alleged misappropriation of 263,877 euros belonging to five elderly friars with dementia or severe cognitive impairment residing in the Dominican infirmary of El Vedat, in Torrent (Valencia). According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the friar, together with another defendant, allegedly took advantage of the friars’ vulnerability to access funds from their bank accounts and transfer part of the money to personal accounts and abroad.
This procedure is now joined by new information published by El País, according to which the complainant who initiated the investigation claims to have reported the alleged irregularities to officials of the Order of Preachers before the case reached the courts, including the then provincial prior of the Dominicans in Spain and current president of the Spanish Conference of Religious (CONFER), friar Jesús Díaz Sariego. The order maintains that it has fully cooperated with the justice system and recalls the presumption of innocence of the accused.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses the friar of misappropriating more than 260,000 euros
According to the indictment, the events under investigation allegedly occurred between 2021 and 2024. The Public Prosecutor’s Office maintains that Martín Alexis González, then head of the residence, obtained signatures from some friars with significant cognitive limitations authorizing him to operate their personal bank accounts.
Based on those authorizations, numerous withdrawals and money transfers were allegedly carried out. Part of the funds was allegedly sent to accounts in Argentina and Colombia, while other amounts were deposited into accounts linked to the defendants. The Public Prosecutor’s Office considers that both acted in concert and requests a five-year prison sentence for each.
The complainant maintains that he warned order officials
The former collaborator of the residence who filed the complaint with the Civil Guard in 2023 claims to have reported the alleged irregularities to officials of the Order of Preachers before the judicial investigation became public.
According to his testimony, he reported the situation to the then prior of the El Vedat convent, friar Juan Mengual, and later to the then provincial prior of the Dominicans in Spain, friar Jesús Díaz Sariego, now president of CONFER. The complainant also maintains that during a meeting with the convent prior, he was asked to withdraw the complaint.
The Order of Preachers refers to its statement
In response to this information, the Order of Preachers maintains the position expressed in the statement issued in October 2025, in which it claims to have fully cooperated with the court by providing all documentation requested during the investigation.
Likewise, the order recalls that it does not tolerate irregular conduct and emphasizes that the accused enjoy the presumption of innocence. It also explains that, due to the vow of poverty inherent in Dominican life, the friars’ assets are not individually owned but form part of the common patrimony of the Province.
A friar with a broad pastoral career
Before his posting in Valencia, Martín Alexis González carried out much of his ministry in Andalusia. For several years he served at the Sanctuary of the Virgen del Mar in Almería, where he was a well-known figure among the faithful and delivered the proclamation for Holy Week in 2003. He was later assigned to Jerez de la Frontera, where he served as chaplain of the Hermandad del Rocío and chaplain of the Colegio Compañía de María.
His time in Jerez ended in 2010 after he requested a temporary dispensation from the Order of Preachers amid various controversies. In 2013 he was exonerated by the Vatican of the accusations that led to his temporary removal, and years later he was assigned to the El Vedat residence, where the events now to be tried took place.