A Honduran court has convicted former first lady Rosa Elena Bonilla of embezzling about $600,000 in government money between 2010 and 2014, when her husband Porfirio Lobo was president.
Bonilla's sentence will be announced Aug. 28 and could run between 58 and 87 years in prison. Bonilla's brother-in-law Mauricio Mora was acquitted.
The case was originally brought forward by the Organization of American States' anti-corruption mission, which began its mandate in the country in 2016 after large street protests against graft.
Former Honduran President Porifirio Lobo waits outside the court for the arrival of his wife Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo before her sentencing on corruption charge in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019. The case has been dubbed "La caja chica de la dama," Spanish for "the lady's petty cash." (AP PhotoElmer Martinez)
Investigators for the nongovernmental National Anticorruption Council have told prosecutors that Bonilla deposited $600,000 in government funds into her personal bank account five days before Lobo ended his four-year term in January 2014.
Prosecutors said she used the money to buy jewelry and pay credit cards.