Nine Individuals Indicted For Bank Fraud

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico– Nine individuals have been indicted for their alleged participation in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, access devices fraud, and/or aggravated identity theft, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The United States Secret Service is in charge of the investigation. The indictment was unsealed today upon the arrest of the defendants.

The indictment, returned on October 1st, 2015 by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico, includes sixteen charges against the following individuals: Carlos Bauzó-Vázquez, aka “Carlitos;” Lesville Matos-Bauzó, aka “Billy;” Gloria Bauzó-Vázquez, aka “Milagritos;” Henry Pérez-Díaz; Laydy Mar Feliciano-Miranda; Héctor Vega-Rivera, aka “El Gringo;” José Díaz-Caraballo, aka “Timana;” David González-Ferrer; and Rafael González-Ferrer.

These charges stem from a scheme utilized by the defendants from approximately July 2014 to April 2015 to provide false employment, income, and residency information to Banco Popular de Puerto Rico in order to receive multiple personal loans and lines of credit. A member of the group would call Banco Popular’s Telebanco Popular service and request a loan using the name, birth date, and social security number of another defendant. During the course of the call, false information would be provided to the bank regarding where the person lived and worked. Further, false information would be provided regarding the person’s income.

Once the requested loan was approved pending the submission of supporting documentation, defendants would take false documents to the bank as evidence of the information provided via telephone. In particular, the defendants utilized fictitious companies and falsified payroll documents in support of the loan requests. Defendants would then cash the loan checks and distribute the cash to members of the conspiracy. This scheme was repeated multiple times. On at least one occasion, credit cards were requested using the same information and documentation fraudulently submitted to the bank for the loan. Members of the conspiracy then made cash advance withdrawals from bank branches and Automated Teller Machines (ATM’s).

The indictment alleges one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1349 and 1344; nine counts of bank fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344, related to loan checks or cash advances fraudulently obtained from the bank; five counts of aggravated identity theft, of a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1), related to the possession and use without lawful authority of a means of identification in relation to bank fraud charged in the indictment; and one count of access devices fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(2), related to the use of unauthorized access devices, credit cards, obtained with intent to defraud. The total value of the fraud was approximately $92,600.

If found guilty, defendants face a maximum penalty of thirty years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud, ten years in prison for access devises fraud, and a mandatory two year consecutive term in prison for aggravated identity theft.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Erbe.

Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. The investigation is ongoing.