SAN JUAN, P.R. – On August 1, 2018, a Federal grand jury
returned a seven-count indictment charging Creative Educational and
Psychological Services, Inc., the president of the corporation Coral
Rivera-Arroyo, and three other employees with conspiracy to commit mail fraud,
mail fraud, conspiracy to commit theft and conversion of government money and
property, and theft of government money and property, announced Rosa Emilia
Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The
Department of Education- Office of Inspector General, and the FBI are in charge
of the investigation with the assistance of the Puerto Rico Comptroller’s
Office.
The indictment alleges that from in or about 2011 through in
or around 2014, defendants Rivera-Arroyo, Frankil González-Pagán, Dennys
Alfredo Soto, and Myrnaliz Navarro-Rodríguez
engaged in a conspiracy and scheme to defraud by invoicing and charging
the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PR DOE) for services that were not
rendered or were not payable under Creative’s contract with PR DOE. The scheme
included falsely reporting to PR DOE that Creative had provided Supplemental
Educational Services (SES) tutoring for specific hours to specific students
when, in fact, not all of the invoiced services for SES tutoring had been
provided to all of the students.
The conspiracy and scheme to defraud included, but was not
limited to the fabrication of false biometric attendance records; false records
supporting manual attendance entries; false records supporting the notification
of the post-test; and forging the signatures of students, parents, and teachers
in the records.
During the duration of the conspiracy, Creative Educational
and Psychological Services, Inc., through its employees and/or contractors,
knowingly caused the PR DOE to issue approximately 32 checks payable to
Creative totaling $24,927,125.56 in Title I funds in payment of invoices
containing and supported by materially false information and forged signatures.
“Supplemental Education Services program funds provide
critical resources for deserving students who seek to improve their academic
performance. Individuals and businesses who choose to illegally enrich
themselves at the expense of our students and the U.S. taxpayer, instead of
providing the educational services invoiced, will be aggressively investigated
and prosecuted by the Department of Justice,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez,
United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “These arrests
demonstrate the combined federal commitment to combating fraud, waste and
abuse”.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States
Attorney Seth A. Erbe. If found guilty, defendants are facing a maximum penalty
of 20 years in prison. Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of
guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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