Ex-ATI official indicted for bankruptcy fraud
By The Star Staff
A grand jury indicted Jorge Droz Yapur, the former Transportation and Public Works assistant director of the Integrated Transportation Authority, or ATI by its Spanish initials, and Yamil Fonseca Salgado in relation to separate bankruptcy fraud schemes, W. Stephen Muldrow, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, announced Tuesday.
Droz Yapur was indicted in a bankruptcy fraud scheme for making materially false representations from May 2019 to August 2021 in order to defraud creditors as part of a bankruptcy proceeding, in re: Jorge Droz Yapur, Case No. 19-02999(MCF). Additionally, he is charged with nine counts of concealment of assets during his bankruptcy proceedings and eight counts of making false statements in relation to such bankruptcy proceedings.
The indictment alleges that during his bankruptcy proceedings, Droz Yapur concealed assets and income by using a bank account in his adult son’s name. It further alleges that Droz Yapur testified under oath that his mother was at an elderly home and provided Puerto Rico tax returns as part of the bankruptcy proceedings wherein he claimed his mother as a dependent between the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, when in fact, he knew his mother had passed away in 2011.
If convicted, Droz Yapur may be sentenced to up to five years of imprisonment for each violation, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia, upon learning of the arrest, said Droz Yapur no longer worked in the government.
Separately, Fonseca Salgado was indicted in a bankruptcy fraud scheme in which he allegedly made materially false representations between April 2018 and May 2022 in five separate bankruptcy cases in order to defraud his minor child of child support payments. Additionally, he is charged with one count of willful failure to pay some $107,200 in child support payments and 13 counts of false statements during his bankruptcy proceedings.
The indictment alleges that Fonseca Salgado concealed, in several bankruptcy filings, assets, income and his connection to a maintenance company by the name of CMM Janitorial Inc. The indictment further alleges that Yamil Fonseca Salgado concealed, in several bankruptcy filings, that he received money transfers via ATH Móvil from the bank account of a construction company controlled by close family members. A construction company which in turn collected monies from the public housing management company Fonseca Salgado worked for, and that he further received money through the use and control of a Banco Popular de Puerto Rico bank account in his grandmother’s name where he accessed funds for routine personal expenses.
If convicted, Fonseca Salgado may be sentenced to up to two years to five years of imprisonment for each and a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
“The fraudulent use of bankruptcy and other court proceedings to defraud creditors or defraud children of child support payments are of grave concern, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office remains vigilant in the effort to hold accountable those who would defraud the government,” Muldrow said.