Preventative imprisonment confirmed for three accused in RD$2,500 million Coop-Herrera fraud
The Third Collegiate Court of Santo Domingo Oeste upheld the preventative imprisonment of three defendants accused of the massive fraud at Coop-Herrera. The trial is scheduled for 20 November 2026.
Court maintains imprisonment for three defendants in Coop-Herrera fraud
The Third Collegiate Court of Santo Domingo Oeste upheld on Friday the preventative imprisonment against three of the accused in the RD$2,500 million fraud perpetrated through the Cooperativa de Ahorros y Crédito Herrera (Coop-Herrera), according to reporting by eldia.com.do.
Judge Julio Aybar, president of the court, rejected requests to lift coercive measures presented by the defence counsel for Gabriel Santana Borsilea, Jorge Eligio Méndez and Jacer Eliazar Mejía Pereyra.
In his reasoning, Aybar noted that the reasonable period for preventative imprisonment remains in effect and that its termination does not occur automatically, but rather requires the evaluation of different circumstances. Among the factors considered were the seriousness of the alleged facts, the possible sentence in the event of conviction and the guarantees offered by the defendants to face trial while free.
The judge also took into account that the Public Ministry is ready to present its opening statement at the start of trial, scheduled for 20 November 2026, and that the arguments raised by the defence had previously been evaluated by other judges, who deemed them insufficient.
As a consequence of the decision, Santana Borsilea will remain incarcerated at the Centro de Corrección y Rehabilitación (CCR) of La Romana, whilst Méndez and Mejía Pereyra will remain in CCR-XVII of Najayo, in the province of San Cristóbal.
At the hearing, the prosecution was represented by General Court Prosecutor Eduardo Velázquez Muñoz, of the General Direction of Prosecution, and Prosecutor Jonathan Pérez Fulcar, of the Specialised Directorate for Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca).
Fraudulent scheme and victims
According to the Public Ministry's case file, the criminal network affected 366 victims through a scheme that included simulation of loans and the issuance of financial certificates without backing. These manoeuvres were intended to divert resources from the members and savers of Coop-Herrera.
In addition to the three defendants with confirmed preventative imprisonment, the proceeding involves other individuals: Julio César Minaya Mejía, Simona Borsilea Juan, Emanuel Pozo Borsilea, Cristóbal Mariano, Juan Julián Bryan Richardson and Carina Elizabet García de la Rosa.
Also appearing in the case file are several companies linked to the matter: Inmobiliaria Villa Pastoral 21 S.R.L., ByT Diseños y Construcciones S.R.L., Conspebo RD S.R.L., Comercial Gabriel Santana S.R.L., Gabriel Santana Auto Import S.R.L., GSB Music Studio y Productions S.R.L. and GBS Baseball Academy S.R.L.
To support the prosecution, the Public Ministry gathered hundreds of items of evidence of a material, expert, testimonial and documentary nature, including reports from the General Direction of Internal Revenue (DGII) and the National Department of Title Registration.
Operation Owl
Operation Owl was executed on 4 October 2023, following several months of investigation that made it possible to identify and arrest directors of Coop-Herrera allegedly linked to the fraud. The operation involved more than 20 prosecutors, approximately 100 police officers and a dozen members of specialist teams.
The intervention took place after the Institute for Development and Cooperative Credit (Idecoop) and several private parties filed complaints against executives of the entity. During the deployment, authorities seized properties, vessels, vehicles and other luxury assets by court order.
The case is the result of joint work between the General Direction of Prosecution of the Public Ministry, the Financial Investigation Unit and the Prosecutor's Office of Santo Domingo Oeste.
Source: Google News DO — Santo Domingo