On charges of “fraudulent management”… Maradona’s two sisters and his lawyer were referred to trial

Yesterday, an Argentine court ruled to refer two sisters of football icon Diego Maradona, his lawyer and three other people to trial on charges of “fraudulent management” of the late star’s trademark.

In a decision seen by Agence France-Presse, a court in Buenos Aires ordered the referral of Matías Morla, Maradona’s former lawyer, and his two sisters, Claudia and Rita Maradona, aged 54 and 72, in addition to two former assistants and a notary public, to trial.

According to the referral decision, they are suspected of “causing harm to the interests of the legal heirs,” that is, Maradona’s children, “within the framework of a prior agreement and sharing of roles and tasks,” through the assets of a company that Maradona established five years before his death.

This decision means that there will be a new trial for Maradona in Argentina, in addition to the one being held these days in San Isidro (north of Buenos Aires), regarding the circumstances of the icon’s death in November 2020 at the age of 60, during a period of post-operative treatment in a private residence.

Two weeks ago, seven health sector workers (a doctor, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, and nurses) were being tried in that case on charges of “possible premeditated murder.”

The “Maradona Brand” case is the culmination of proceedings that began in 2021. His eldest daughters, Dalma and Giannina, had resorted to the judiciary after accusing Morla and the other defendants of seizing their father’s trademark and its affiliates, which they say should have returned to them after Diego’s death. Three other sons joined the complaint.

Last December, an Argentine Court of Appeal confirmed the indictment of the six people concerned, and decided to seize their property worth two billion pesos (about 1.4 million dollars).

The value of the marks associated with Maradona is estimated at “about $100 million,” according to the lawyer of Jana, Diego’s youngest daughter.

A lawyer for one of Maradona’s daughters told AFP that Morla, who founded a company to manage the player’s brand, ran the activity “on his own account” immediately after Maradona’s death, before later transferring control to the player’s two sisters.