ICE arrests attorney for forgery, wire fraud, obstruction of justice
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A Mayaguez attorney, charged with forgery of a federal bankruptcy court judge's signature, obstruction of justice and wire fraud, was arrested Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents.
According to the 10-count indictment, Luis R. Santos-Baez, 32, forged and agreed to use supposedly legal documents bearing the false signatures of U.S Bankruptcy Court judges Mildred Caban-Flores and Edward A. Godoy, for the purpose of authenticating said documents for the bankruptcy proceedings. Documents that appeared to be court orders signed by the judges, had in fact never been entered by the bankruptcy court nor signed by any judge.
The indictment also alleges that the Santos-Baez unlawfully enriched himself by obtaining money and property from individuals under the false and fraudulent pretenses and representations that he had filed bankruptcy petitions on their behalf.
During the course of the scheme, Santos-Baez filed on behalf of three different clients various bankruptcy petitions. He received payments from the debtors for filing and attorney's fees. However, the bankruptcy petitions filed by Santos-Baez were later dismissed by the court for failure to pay the corresponding filing fees and/or failure to provide required information to the court. Furthermore, Santos-Baez made a series of false and fraudulent statements and representations to convince the debtors that he was working on their cases and that they were under bankruptcy protection, when in fact their cases had been dismissed.
Santos-Baez also sent email communications attaching fraudulent court documents purportedly filed in the debtors' bankruptcy cases and signed by U.S. Bankruptcy Court judges, when in fact these documents were not signed by, or consented to by the judges.
In order to carry out the objects of the scheme and artifice to defraud, Santos-Baez sent e-mail communications in furtherance of the scheme to defraud. In these communications Santos-Baez made a series of false statements and provided false documents in order to induce his clients into believing that they were under bankruptcy protection, when in fact their cases had been dismissed. He knew the signatures and the orders provided in these wire communications were fraudulent and false.
"This man took advantage of people who deposited their trust in his profession and alleged expertise with the sole intent to line his own pockets," said Ricardo Mayoral, acting special agent in charge of HSI San Juan. "HSI's special agents are constantly vigilant against those who attempt to feed off the vulnerable and will continue to pursue those who think they can game the system."
"Today's arrest demonstrates our commitment to prosecute those who maliciously seek to enrich themselves at the expense of vulnerable victims who have sought the protection and relief under our bankruptcy laws." said U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez.
"I am grateful to U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez and to ICE HSI for joining the U.S. Trustee Program's efforts to combat bankruptcy fraud and abuse," stated Guy G. Gebhardt, acting U.S. Trustee for Puerto Rico, Florida, Georgia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws.
If convicted, Santos-Baez faces a sentence of up to 29 years in prison.
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