Overview

• Judge Tomás Orso ruled on July 7 that alleged offenses between 2015 and February 2018 had surpassed the six-year prescription period after the first interruptive act was filed only in May 2024, leading to the dismissal of the second Megaestafa Inmobiliaria case.
• The appellate decision nullifies a lower court’s admissibility ruling and halts proceedings on 31 fraud counts, 23 attempted frauds and five counts of ideological falsehood in the new phase of the scheme.
• The ruling prevents dozens of families in Venado Tuerto, San Eduardo and Maggiolo from recovering properties they allege were misappropriated.
• Venado Tuerto Mayor Leonel Chiarella denounced the judgment as "juridical madness" that favors a white-collar criminal and called for Supreme Court intervention.
• Regional Prosecutor Matías Merlo announced a constitutional challenge to Orso’s interpretation of prescription law, reflecting broader prosecutorial backlash against the ruling.