The file is over 400 pages long and contains about 200 pieces of evidence
SANTO DOMINGO.-The Public Prosecutor's Office has established that the fraud carried out by the dismantled network, which according to that body was headed by Enmanuel Rivera Ledesma, amounts to more than 700 million pesos, affecting more than 300 victims who were offered homes in supposed real estate projects, through multiple fraudulent maneuvers.
The hearing to determine the coercive measures against engineer Rivera Ledesma and six others involved in the alleged multi-million dollar fraud through real estate sales will be held this Saturday at 9:00 a.m.
The prosecuting body filed the request for coercive measures against the defendants in Operation Nido with the Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services of the National District early Friday morning.
In the request for coercive measures, the Public Prosecutor's Office states that members of the organization obtained RD$485,619,386.90 from financial institutions alone. It also states that many clients paid in cash.
Prosecutor Sourelly Jáquez told the media that the prosecution is requesting pretrial detention and a declaration of the case's complexity in the file.
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed for pretrial detention in this case of a fraudulent scam targeting people living in the country and others abroad,” said Jáquez, who stated that the case file is over 400 pages long and contains some 200 pieces of evidence, including testimonial, expert, and financial evidence, among others.
The prosecuting body has established that the fraud carried out by the dismantled network amounts to more than 700 million pesos, affecting more than 300 victims who were offered homes in supposed real estate projects, through multiple fraudulent maneuvers.
Jáquez specified that for the preparation of the file, defendants, victims, and people who sold part of the land where the alleged projects to defraud people would be built were questioned.
In addition to Jáquez, the prosecutors Andrés Mena, Emmanuel Ramírez and Laura Vargas Toledo, from the National District Prosecutor's Office, participated in the filing of the request for coercive measures.
The investigation by the prosecuting body, in which Emmanuel Rivera Ledesma, Emmanuel Eduardo Rivera Pichardo, María Gabriela Rivera Pichardo, Escarlet Mercedes Cruz Figueroa, Reilin Arismendy Rosario García, Mirna Catalina Rivera Ledesma, Juan Omar Rosario López and the legal entities Inmobiliaria & Diseños Arquitectónicos, INDISARQ and CRD Equipos Pesados, SRL, RNC are charged, indicates that most of those affected are working people who with sacrifices contributed significant amounts of money to acquire a home that they never received.
Furthermore, when several of them complained, they were threatened and intimidated by the ringleader of the network, Emmanuel Rivera Ledesma, who challenged them to go to justice, an instance in which, according to what he proclaimed, the victims would leave without achieving anything.
“We understand that the events are serious, that the impact is not only economic, but also psychological, emotional, familial, and even professional, for many of these victims,” said Jáquez, who indicated that many of the defrauded people are struggling with delicate health conditions.
The criminal network used the corporate vehicles Indisarq and SRL, CRD Equipos Pesados, SRL, through which they created a fraudulent real estate scheme to carry out scams, forgery, criminal association and money laundering to the detriment of the victims to whom they offered homes through nine real estate projects.
During the investigation, evidence was seized demonstrating that the accused, Emmanuel Rivera Ledesma, used the names of well-known people to deceive victims into believing he was being protected by individuals he didn't actually know. Evidence was also gathered regarding the lavish lifestyles enjoyed by several members of the network, financed by the money obtained from the victims.
As a result of the investigation, the accused Emmanuel Rivera Ledesma initiated a series of maneuvers with the aim of preventing the victims from filing complaints against him or withdrawing complaints already filed.
He also sought to have the victims sign new contracts and take other actions aimed at obstructing the investigation process, which shows that the accused and other members of the network must comply with a coercive measure that prevents them from destroying evidence and being a clear threat to the people defrauded.
In the deployment of Operation Nido, which began in the early hours of last Wednesday, the Public Ministry and the National Police carried out twenty-five (25) raids in San Cristóbal, Dajabón, Espaillat, Sánchez Ramírez and the National District.
A total of 170 police officers and 28 prosecutors proceeded to execute the search and arrest warrants against the targets of the investigation, while also seizing evidence linked to the case.
Cover photo: Diario Libre.
