SANTO DOMINGO.-Yesterday, Friday, February 7, 2025, the La Romana Prosecutor's Office, together with the Specialized Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prosecutor's Office, launched the Guepardo case, which included a large operation of 11 raids, arrests and seizures, for the Novasco Real Estate case, the construction and real estate company that allegedly defrauded numerous people, for an amount that would have been around more than 18 million dollars.
During the operation, Marisol Nova Nolasco and Rocío del Alba Rodríguez de Moya were arrested, identified as leaders of a network dedicated to electronic fraud and money laundering, while Yves Alexandre Giroux and Loany Lismeiry Ortiz Nova, members of this structure, are fugitives, according to a statement from the Public Ministry.
According to the agency, the network operated through social media, attracting buyers from the United States, Puerto Rico, and Europe, who made transfers to acquire non-existent properties.
The operation resulted in the seizure of properties, high-end vehicles, electronic devices, models, corporate documentation related to the crime under investigation, among other things.
The Public Prosecutor's Office reported that, starting in the early hours of Friday morning, 11 raids were carried out and two properties were seized in Santo Domingo East, the National District, La Romana, and La Altagracia. The criminal organization defrauded hundreds of victims and obtained illicit profits exceeding $18 million.
The operation was led by the La Romana Prosecutor's Office, in collaboration with the Specialized Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prosecutor's Office, the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) and the Money Laundering and Terrorism Investigation Division (DILATF) of the National Police.
According to the investigation, the criminal network created the company Novasco Real Estate, SRL, to commit the fraud. They subsequently acquired a RE/MAX franchise, gaining the trust of their victims and attracting clients whom they ultimately defrauded.
Court prosecutor Ramona Nova Cabrera, interim head of the Specialized Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prosecutor's Office, and the head prosecutor of La Romana, Reina Yaniris Rodríguez Cedeño, highlighted that the investigation has dismantled a meticulously planned criminal network.
The preliminary investigation, led by prosecutors Bienvenido Florentino and Claudio Cordero, has uncovered this sophisticated criminal network. Authorities are continuing their investigation to capture the fugitives and bring all those responsible for the fraud to justice.
The lawsuit
In December of last year, the Public Prosecutor's Office of La Romana was seized of the complaint filed by a group of people, mostly residents abroad, documenting that they had been defrauded by the company Novasco Real Estate SR L, as stated in the complaint which at that time consisted of more than 50 pages, according to the copy sent to El Inmobiliario.
Carolina Núñez, the lawyer representing 38 victims, highlighted that the amount involved among the plaintiffs through her office is approximately US$500,000. “The company that allegedly developed the project is known as Novasco Real Estate, a company that was created as a shell company. It was only incorporated in 2021, and eight months later it was already being promoted as a major project developer,” the lawyer stated at the time.
Among those affected, according to the complaint in the archives of El Inmobiliario, are Julia Antonopoulus, Marina Marte, Manuel Enrique Frisman Terreno, Patricia del Carmen Remírez Peña, Raime Lorenzo Lora Gómez Suriel, among others.
