million, into a trust, which he established and controlled. the purpose of setting it up was to ensure that the refuge would have a structure that would protect it after we were gone. in the event of john dying first, it was also meant to provide financial security for ann. but that isn t how things went, according to milton jiminez, an alvarez employee who helped to manage the trust. translator: after john bender died, the first thing mr. alvarez did was take away ann s credit card. he declared himself the only heir of the trust, he said the trust no longer existed and now everything belonged to him. jimenez says he was so disturbed by what he calls alvarez s lying ways and soaring ego that he left the company. i found out he had quit and i
got in touch with him. he told me verbally some things and things fell together. jimenez had accused alvarez of stealing from the trust. translator: almost around the same time the trust was created, mr. alvarez began investing the funds in personal projects and paying for personal expenses. his lifestyle changed completely. ann sued alvarez for fraud and gained access to his files on the trust. the case is pending. from what you saw, how much money do you estimate mr. alvarez stole from that trust? translator: by the time i left the office i calculated $20 million. in the end, jimenez believes alvarez wanted ann put away so that he could get away with embezzling millions.
defense attorney fabio believes this john bender e-mail was key to ann s acquittal. translator: in an e-mail john sent ann months before he passed away, he said he wanted to kill himself and everyone around him after discovering issues with his finances. issues like getting money from the man who managed the benders financial trust. john wrote, i am such a total [ bleep ] loser for ever getting involved with the total scum bags. for ann, the verdict was relief and vindication. you must have thought it was over. yeah, i thought it was over. but it wasn t. in costa rica, such a verdict can be appealed, so a defendant can be tried twice for the same crime. and that s what prosecutor edgar ramirez did. why did your office appeal
the defense attorney fabio believes this john bender e-mail was key to ann s acquittal. translator: in an e-mail john sent ann months before he passed away, he said that he wanted to kill himself and everyone around him after discovering issues with his finances. issues like getting money from the man who managed the benders financial trust. john wrote, i am such a total [ bleep ] loser for ever getting involved with the total scum bags. for ann, the verdict was relief and vindication. you must have thought it was over. yeah, i thought it was over. but it wasn t. in costa rica, such a verdict can be appealed so a defendant can be tried twice for the same crime. and that s what prosecutor edgar ramirez did. why did your office appeal
i found out that he had quit, and i got in touch with him. he told me verbally some things and things fell together. jiminez had accused alvarez of stealing from the trust. translator: almost around the same time the trust was created, mr. alvarez began investing the funds in personal projects and paying for personal expenses. his lifestyle changed completely. ann sued alvarez for fraud and gained access to his files on the trust. the case is pending. from what you saw, how much money do you estimate mr. alvarez stole from that trust? translator: by the time i left the office, i calculated $20 million. in the end, jimenez believes alvarez wanted ann put away so that he could get away with embezzling millions. translator: what he wanted