SANTO DOMINGO - This Thursday at 7:00 PM, Judge Rigoberto Sena of the Permanent Attention Office of the National District will decide on the coercive measure to be imposed on the 7 individuals implicated in what the Public Prosecutor's Office called "Operation Nest," through which an alleged network of real estate fraudsters was dismantled, who would have defrauded more than 300 people of more than RD$700 million, who had the intention of acquiring a home.
While the Public Ministry changed its request for coercive measures for three of the defendants, so that they would be placed under house arrest and not in pretrial detention in a jail, for different reasons for each one: Rivera Ledesma's wife, Escarlet Mercedes Cruz, because she was breastfeeding, his daughter, María Gabriela Rivera (because she was a minor when the events occurred), and Reilin Arismendi Rosario, for cooperating with the prosecuting body.
During yesterday's long session, the Public Prosecutor, the victims, and the alleged fraudsters were heard, in addition to the arguments of the latter's defense lawyers.
"The process was completed and the judge has retired to consider the evidence presented," said lawyer Robinson Rosario, defender of Reilin Arismendy Rosario, allegedly linked to the fraud network.
He considered that the most important thing has been what has been stated by his client, the accused Rosario, who acknowledged his guilt and directly links Emmanuel Rivera, identified as the ringleader in Operation Nido, as the sole person responsible for the scams.
Rosario told the judge that the Ruth Towers, with 14 apartments, had been sold 31 times, to the same number of victims.
Those charged in the fraud, along with Rivera Ledesma, are Emmanuel Eduardo Rivera Pichardo, María Gabriela Rivera Pichardo, Escarlet Mercedes Cruz Figueroa, Reilin Arismendy Rosario García, Mirna Catalina Rivera Ledesma, and Juan Omar Rosario López. Also charged are the legal entities Inmobiliaria & Diseños Arquitectónicos (Indisarq) and CRD Equipos Pesados, SRL, RNC.
A technical failure in the courtroom where the coercive measure for the defendants was being heard caused the entire debate that began last Tuesday to not be recorded, so the hearing had to be restarted completely around 1:30 in the afternoon.
Request from the Public Prosecutor
In addition to the house arrest for three people, the Public Prosecutor's Office is requesting 18 months of preventive detention and a declaration of a complex case against the remaining four.
"They used lawyers and accountants who, despite being obligated parties, entered the fraudulent scheme to give the network the appearance of legality and financial stability, as well as to advise on how to cover up their fraudulent maneuvers," says the official document from the prosecuting body.
The prosecution alleges that the defendants moved millions of dollars through private accounts without any justification or financial documentation. It further states that the leader of the criminal organization, Emmanuel Rivera, threatened, insulted, and intimidated the victims, boasting to them of his supposed connections within and outside the justice system.
The direct charges are fraud, forgery, criminal association, money laundering, and attempting to assault defendants at the courthouse
A group of victims of the scam tried again yesterday to attack the defendants as they were being escorted out of the courtroom at the Palace of Justice in Ciudad Nueva by police officers.
The victims, who are owed millions of pesos, shouted unprintable phrases at the defendants on Tuesday, many of whom covered their faces with cloths and hands to avoid being captured by media cameras as they hurriedly left the courthouse
Intention to return the money
Although some lawyers claim that the defendants do not have the resources to pay the plaintiffs, Rivera's lawyer, Félix Porte, stated that his client has intended to return the money since October.
He explained that between October 6 and December 7, 2023, Rivera made payments to some of the buyers. However, the refund process has been delayed due to the number of people involved.
"Since I became his lawyer, he is prohibited from contacting the buyers or the purchasers, he is prohibited from giving statements to the press, because I understand that before I became his lawyer he handled things poorly, because obviously in a situation, a complaint, he should have been sensitive to the buyers and obviously not reacted in a brutish way as he did and obviously that has been remedied because he has not done that again," Porte stated.
With information from Diario Libre.
