Massive complaint for fraudulent use of Castelldefels Hospitality School grants

CastelldefelsA mess. With public money and vulnerable students. This is what teachers, workers, coordinators and students from the Escola d'Hostaleria de Castelldefels have denounced. Forged signatures, obsolete material and spaces, off-the-books payments... these are the various irregularities that the Servei d'Ocupació de Catalunya (SOC) is investigating. Over the last two weeks, four inspections have been carried out and dozens of people interviewed to determine if there has been a misuse of public funds granted to the institution.

L'ARA has spoken with about fifteen witnesses, who confirm the alleged irregularities denounced to the SOC and also to the Labor Inspectorate that are occurring at the Escola d'Hostaleria de Castelldefels, directed by Raimon Martínez. The complaints even mention mistreatment, coercion, and abuse of power towards the students, many of whom are young people in vulnerable situations.

Undercover workers

"The students have lost valuable time and have worked for free, they haven't done the course nor have they obtained residency," explains one of the teachers. All courses are subsidized. The majority by the SOC, which in 2025, for example, contributed more than 850,000 euros to the school; although, at times, Martínez has channeled these aids through other companies or entities. For the school to ensure payment of this money, students must attend at least 75% of the classes. And it has been verified that there were attendance signatures of some students that were falsified by the school to guarantee payment of the money. "[The director] Asked me to sign for a student," admits an administrative assistant.

The complaints also refer to the fact that Martínez made students, without being prepared, work in the school's restaurant instead of the theory and classes they should have received according to the teaching programs. "They were not prepared," admits a professor. A few weeks after starting the course, he put them in the restaurant without having learned basic issues about "sanitary matters, food handling, nutrition, or how to vacuum pack," explains a teacher. For him, they are "free labor," adds a management person. "We were working for him, we weren't doing a course," denounces a student who had given up a job to do this training that would allow her to prove residency and regularize her situation. The students, some of whom "didn't speak Catalan or Spanish," were put to work in the kitchen and dining room to serve dishes without any training, they were even scolded for how they presented the dishes to customers even though "no one had taught them how to plate." This student is emphatic when criticizing what she found: "We were never a school, but a restaurant."

The students also worked at events for which the school was hired, some even by public institutions such as the Castelldefels City Council. Without being registered with Social Security, they were paid under the table and worked outside their hours. Even on weekends. "What would have happened if something had happened to the students without them being registered?", one of the teachers wonders.

Vulnerable students

Many of the school's young people come from vulnerable backgrounds, and for those who are not Spanish citizens, attending these training courses allows them to obtain a certificate to regularize their situation. "They are people seeking integration, at social risk," summarizes a third teacher. In some courses, due to the problems detected and the non-compliance with the requirements set by the SOC, some students were left without a certificate, which poses problems in demonstrating integration. Even, the students denounced that Martínez offered them a certificate (from the school, not from the SOC) if they adapted to the restaurant's schedules, which were not compatible with those of the course they were taking. "He told us that those who stayed later would get a certificate. He bought us with a certificate," laments a student. In a joint complaint to the SOC about one of these courses, the complainants explain that there were "coercions" to work in the restaurant and that they fear "reprisals" from the center's management.

Furthermore, in the case of those taking the dual vocational training, they were supposed to receive a monthly financial benefit, and the money did not arrive. Weeks of delays that for the most vulnerable meant many headaches. "I am very alone, I was working and I left because I saw the training as an opportunity. I have to pay bills, debts don't wait," criticizes another student who did not receive a single euro during the first month.

Teachers, workers, and students agree in pointing out that the students were mistreated. Some were invited to leave without reason. Others were pressured because they complained about the conditions they were in. "They kicked me out. Am I kicked out? Because I am Roma? Because of my ethnicity?" asks a boy who found a professional alternative thanks to a teacher. A teacher reported this treatment of students by the coordination of the teaching staff, who called the students "pawns" and said they were "nobody," as they were at the center thanks to the "subsidy."

All consulted sources emphasize that there are very significant deficiencies regarding the school's material and space. "It does not meet the requirements of cleanliness or safety. The classrooms are unworthy. There were no changing rooms. There are no areas to properly separate food. The machinery and materials are obsolete," enumerates a teacher who assures that the kitchen extractor does not work well, among many other deficiencies. The students, who have suffered fainting spells due to high kitchen temperatures, have no dining hall and have to go outside. To meet the required standards for the computer room, several testimonies recount how the management faked a video making it seem like there were more computers than there actually were, many of which were employees' personal laptops. "I cannot explain how such a space can be accredited," concludes one of the teachers. In this regard, the SOC maintains that the inspections carried out at the center since it was registered in 2024 have not revealed any irregularities. In 2025, two were conducted and "no significant incidents were detected nor were any complaints transmitted by the students." Now, however, several have arrived in a few months.

Another of the aspects denounced is that more than once the classes have not been taught by accredited teachers but by management personnel with a script extracted thanks to artificial intelligence, provided by Martínez.

Background

Several people have explained that what is happening in Castelldefels had previously taken place in other entities where Martínez had worked. At least, there is evidence of three where there had been problems. In one, a foundation also from Castelldefels, the Generalitat detected irregularities in three training courses and a suspension of 41,000 euros of the funds going to the foundation was made after verifying that people who were not teachers were giving classes or that attendance sheets of students had been manipulated. "I discovered that he had deceived us," recalls a member of the board. "I know his character, I believe everything. I have seen how he manipulated company certificates to send them to the SOC," denounces an employee of one of these entities, who gives the example of a person who was hired without having to work to justify and collect aid.

While awaiting the closing of the investigation, the SOC has requested the school to, for the moment, "refrain from initiating new training actions" and has assured that it will guarantee "that students who have finished the training or those who are currently taking it will not have any kind of impact." ARA has contacted Martínez without receiving a response.

Martínez has moved from one sector to another, always obtaining public money to carry out the projects in which he has participated. "The problem is that he doesn't know, about cooking, and even the school's logos are wrong," summarizes a professor as an example. The image shows a knife, a fork in the center, and a spoon. That is not the order when setting the table. What Martínez does know about is subsidies. "He comes from many years of working and justifying subsidies, he knows the fine print very well," explains a former colleague. "No one enters the school who cannot be subsidized," adds a former employee.