Puerto Rico's Bank Robbery and Financial Institution Fraud Division is asking the public for help locating four men wanted on arrest warrants for a lucrative illegal traffic-fine payment scheme: David A. Rodríguez Martín, Rogelio Rivera Dumas, Jospeh Rivera Báez, and Roberto Rodríguez Cancel. Prosecutor Rosa Molina Pérez, of the Economic Crimes Division, filed 135 criminal charges for fraud and illegal appropriation of public funds against 33 people involved in a scheme that illegally paid over $300,000 in fines through DTOP's Cesco Digital and AutoExpreso, using a corporate credit card's number and code without the cardholder's authorization.
The investigation, which culminated in arrests yesterday during Operation Eslabón, found that between June and September 2021 several defendants supplied their driver's license information and paid third parties to erase their fines or obtain zero-balance certifications fraudulently, despite no discount or amnesty being in effect at the time. The Treasury Department processed the disputed transactions under standard financial-institution procedures and refunded the claimed payments. Judge Ángel Rivera Miranda of the San Juan Court of First Instance found probable cause for arrest against all defendants and set combined bail at $1,231,000.
Tips can be reported to police at (787) 343-2020 or investigator Abraham Lebrón at (787) 793-1234, extensions 2100 and 2108.