Rome – The Supreme Court of Cassation has annulled without referral the conviction for misappropriation of funds against a Caserta businessman, accepting the defense argument supported by the lawyer Pasquale Acconcia.
The legal case, which began with a complaint for failure to return 100.000 euros, ends with an important victory for the defendant.
The case originates from a contract for the supply of masks signed during the pandemic period, characterized by strong demand and continuous price fluctuations.
The civil party had paid a deposit of 169.000 euros to the company represented by the entrepreneur, in exchange for a substantial supply. However, the contract did not come to fruition and the defendant returned only 69.000 euros.
The failure to return the remaining 100.000 euros had led to the conviction of the entrepreneur in the first instance, a sentence later confirmed on appeal. The lawyer Pasquale Acconcia, since the early stages of the proceedings, had argued that the matter fell within the scope of a simple breach of contract.
In the appeal to the Supreme Court, the defense objected that the Court of Appeal had not adequately assessed the civil nature of the dispute.
According to the defense, the sum paid constituted a down payment on the price of a future sale and, in the absence of a specific destination constraint, had become part of the entrepreneur's assets, losing the character of "altruity". In support of this argument, a previous ruling of the Court of Cassation was cited (no. 23783/2021).
The Supreme Court accepted the third ground of appeal, annulling the conviction without referral
. The Supreme Court judges held that the sum paid by the entrepreneur was not subject to a destination restriction that would justify a conviction for misappropriation. In fact, the money had become the entrepreneur's property upon receipt as an advance, without any limitation on its use.
The Court of Cassation clarified that the crime of misappropriation is configured only in the presence of a specific constraint on the destination of the money received, a circumstance not found in the case in question. Therefore, the matter was downgraded to a possible civil offence for breach of contract.
With the final ruling of the Court of Cassation, the conviction of the Caserta businessman was annulled and the civil provisions revoked, sanctioning his acquittal from the charges of embezzlement. An important success for the defense strategy of Attorney Pasquale Acconcia.
Article published on May 7, 2025 - 22:00 pm
The article talks about a legal case that led to the annulment of a conviction. But I don't understand if the entrepreneur's behavior was right or wrong. It seems to me that there are many legal nuances to consider.