Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary series living up to its in every way conceivable, Netflix’s ‘Little Nicholas: Life of a Scoundrel’ can only be described as equal parts bewildering, intriguing, and shocking. That’s because it comprises not just archival footage but also exclusive interviews to really underscore the way Madrid native Francisco Nicolás Gómez Iglesias defrauded the entire nation. Though the most extraordinary aspect of this ordeal is the fact he did so as a mere teen — in fact, records suggest his crimes spanned over five years until his ultimate arrest at the age of 20.
Who is Little Nicolás?
Although born on April 18, 1994, to Spaniards María del Carmen Iglesias Catalán and Francisco Gómez Nicolás as their sole child, Nicolás has reportedly lived with his grandmother since he was 14. That’s actually around the same time he started getting involved in economic, political, as well as public social circles all on his own to fulfill his childhood dream of leading a life of pure luxury. The truth is he hails from a working-class neighborhood called La Prosperidad, yet his humble family worked hard to send him to St. Francis of Assisi school, and it’s there that he changed.
“At school, [Nicolás] would say, ‘I’m going to be the Pope when I’m older,'” María candidly revealed in the original production. “I’d go, ‘Oh my’… The nun asked him why and he said, ‘Because he lives in a palace, drives around in armored cars, has bodyguards, drivers, and all he does is [make a cross sign with his hands].’ He thought that was all the Pope had to do.” It thus comes as no surprise this youngster even dragged his parents to the Plaza de Colón (Columbus Square) as soon as he heard of Pope John Paul II’s unfortunate demise on April 2, 2005.
As for Nicolás’ interest in politics, his mother believes this came after he’d asked her “to take him to the People’s Party headquarters to help put voting ballots into envelopes” at the tender age of 10. However, things really escalated following his expulsion from the renowned institute in El Viso owing to bad grades, just for him to then find himself enrolled in a school for elite athletes. “I got into a school for athletes without being one because calls were made,” he has since conceded. “… People would ask, ‘What sport do you play?’ and I’d say, ‘Well, sofa-ball.'”
It was here that Nicolás uncovered his drive to be successful and began taking advantage of his extensive network by kickstarting his career as a Public Relations Professional in nightclubs. “I’d recruit two of the coolest people from each school,” he stated in the docuseries. “So I had a PR team of 60-80 people from the best schools in Madrid,” which included children of significant businessmen, politicians, plus famous individuals. “I then realized team club nights weren’t my thing,” he added. “My thing was power. I consider power a drug that’s never-ending.”
According to reports, that’s when 14-year-old Nicolás made his mother take him to the People’s Party-established Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies (FAES Foundation). He actually joined this organization before employing the same strategy he had as a nightclub PR of recruiting young, influential people to attend official talks, seminars, as well as workshops. This is how he expanded his network even further and soon started leading a double life — he was either a high school turned law student or an important person with countless contacts.
We specify this because upon going to school in an official car for the first time — lent by a district counselor — Nicolás’ focus shifted to utter power, respect, and stability despite being merely 15. He was admittedly a bit of a show-off, but his mother had backed the fact he was attending meetings with politicians instead of drinking or partying with friends like other teens his age. In fact, per the original production, economist Jaime García-Legaz was one of his closest confidantes and the man to have introduced him to many more government officials over the years.
Nicolás has hence since asserted he first met former Prime Minister José Aznar at 15, soon became a collaborator with the national intelligence agency CNI, plus got an invite to King Felipe VI’s crowning. The latter has purportedly even been confirmed — that this youngster got an official invite from the Royal family’s team in an e-mail — all the while he was still rubbing shoulders with the country’s other movers and shakers. Then came his claims of being a rather important person himself, which he subsequently seemingly used to take advantage of certain entities.
According to reports, Nicolás hadn’t even begun attending law university when he stepped foot into criminality by fraudulently promising people sizable business opportunities without any backing. He essentially played the cards of his alleged contacts in the Spanish Administration, the Spanish government, and the CNI for this, while also hiring security personnel to give credibility to his identities. Moreover, he resided in an uber-luxurious home, leased fancy cars, as well as got sirens to reinforce his tales and make everything think thrice before doubting his standing.
Little Nicolás is in Jail Today
While there’s no denying Francisco Nicolás was known as Fran growing up, he was nicknamed El pequeño Nicolás (Little Nicholas) by the Spanish press once his supposed truth came to light. Per official records, he not only committed identity theft, forgery, and fraud between 2009 and 2014 but also infiltrated the highest levels of national political-economic power for his own benefit. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until October 14, 2014, that this so-called CNI agent/collaborator was arrested following an over-the-top and wrong play in Ribadeo, where he was posing as a royal envoy.
Nicolás was subsequently allowed to be released on bail without bond since he wasn’t considered a flight risk at 20, only to be arrested again in February for not paying his bill at a restaurant. Then came his decision to spread his wings in the media plus participate in the Spanish version of ‘Celebrity Big Brother,’ ‘Gran Hermano VIP,’ which honestly just raised more questions about him.
However, they all began dwindling once Nicolás stood his first trial in July 2021, resulting in him being sentenced to 3 years for usurpation of public functions and active bribery. His ensuing conviction came on December 12, 2022, with the provincial court handing him an additional three years and five months once again for usurpation of public functions as well as falsification of official documents by pretending to be a government envoy to broker the sale of a property.
Then, in March 2023, Nicolás was sentenced to another four years three months, with an order to pay a fine of 7300 euros for discovery/disclosure of secrets, violation of official secrets, and active bribery. Therefore, with a previous verdict of 1 year 9 months in an identity theft matter, he faces a total of 12 years 5 months behind bars, and it’s the provincial court that’ll decide whether he even goes to prison.
That’s because Nicolás’ appeal to the Supreme Court has since been dismissed, meaning his hopes of establishing a career in NFTs and leading as normal of a life as possible are now in the hands of the legal system. He also wishes to see the return of the “Young Influence” political party while continuing to spend some quality time with his friends as well as family, yet again, as of writing, it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to do so without a long, long stint behind bars.
Read More: Where is María del Carmen Iglesias Now?
