Ecuador’s National Court of Justice handed former vice president Jorge Glas, 55, a new 13-year prison term on June 30 for embezzling earthquake-reconstruction funds, bringing his total number of corruption convictions to four and stretching his earliest release date to 2041. Judge Mercedes Caicedo also fined him $28,800 and issued a lifetime ban on public office.

Details of the Embezzlement Scheme
The money at stake came from solidarity taxes levied after the 7.8-magnitude 2016 quake that killed nearly 700 people and devastated Manabí and Esmeraldas provinces. Prosecutors told the court that large portions of the fund paid for “useless, unused and unnecessary” projects—including a bridge miles outside the disaster zone—rather than housing and schools for survivors.