Natalia Álvarez Murillo ordered into preventive detention for alleged wedding catering fraud

Natalia Álvarez Murillo, owner of Probarte Banquetería SpA, has been placed in preventive detention by the Viña del Mar Guarantee Court. She is accused of repeated fraud involving approximately 60 couples in the Valparaíso region.

The Public Ministry estimates the total financial loss at roughly $120 million. The victims had contracted catering services for weddings that were ultimately never provided. Álvarez, who had been considered unlocatable since June, surrendered to authorities after legal appeals by the prosecution and complainants overturned her previous release on a $5 million bail.

Álvarez has maintained her innocence, claiming that information regarding the case has been misrepresented and that she was not attempting to evade justice but was awaiting Supreme Court rulings. Her defense attorney, Pablo Ehrenberg, argued that the dispute should be treated as a contractual breach rather than fraud, noting that some contracts included clauses regarding the loss of funds if weddings were canceled.