PDP lawmaker refers alleged scandal involving OCIF to Justice Dept.

By THE STAR STAFF

A Popular Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker has asked the island Justice Department to investigate former Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF by its acronym in Spanish) commissioner Natalia Zequeira and current commissioner Mónica Rodríguez Villa, alleging retaliation, undue influence and possible abuse of power tied to enforcement actions against a private company.

OCIF told the STAR it would respond to the allegations, but no statement had been issued by press time. The scandal is the latest of several that have plagued the administration of Gov. Jenniffer González Colón. 

Rep. Domingo J. Torres García, the PDP House delegation’s alternate minority leader, said the referral is based on a sworn statement and electronic evidence that he claims show “an alarming pattern where the state’s regulatory power may have been used to punish a private company for personal matters.”

Torres García highlighted what he described as a text-message exchange attributed to Zequeira, in which a close associate allegedly urged her to add a “Croqueta Fee” and a “C@bró# Fee” when imposing a fine on businessman Sebastián Carazo Forastieri, general manager of Allied Fleet Services Inc. and AAA Car Rental.

According to the sworn statement described in the referral, the phrase “Croqueta Fee” originated in a message sent to Zequeira by a friend identified as Natalia Castiel, who had recently ended a romantic relationship with a manager tied to the affected company. Torres García said the messages suggest the agency’s enforcement powers were discussed in personal terms. Castiel allegedly was upset because the businessman had kept a dog named Croqueta after the breakup.

The document includes a message that says, “I don’t know how long you’re staying, but when you go to issue the ticket, add Croqueta Fee and C@bró# Fee,” followed by an alleged response from the then-official containing violent and obscene language. Torres García called the exchange “deeply disturbing” and “completely incompatible with the impartial exercise of public service.”

He alleged that after the messages, OCIF launched a series of actions against Allied Fleet Services and AAA Car Rental, including fines he said ranged from thousands to tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars, as well as license denials. Torres García also alleged that the actions continued under Rodríguez Villa, who served as deputy commissioner during Zequeira’s tenure.

The referral asks Justice Department officials to preserve relevant electronic records and review potential ethical and criminal violations, including possible conflicts of interest. It also requests consideration of additional referrals, including to Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court for conduct that would be incompatible with the practice of law, Torres García said.

“Regulatory agencies exist to protect the people, not to carry out personal vendettas from within the government,” he said, warning that if confirmed, the allegations would represent a dangerous misuse of government power.

Later on Monday, Rodríguez Villa justified the fines imposed against Allied Fleet Services and AAA Car Rental, noting that they stem from regulatory non-compliance rather than personal retaliation.

“I neither knew about nor participated in those text messages, nor am I mentioned in the texts allegedly reproduced in the sworn affidavit,” the OCIF commissioner said in a written statement. “If true, the language contained in said texts is reprehensible; I repudiate them and do not agree with them. However, the fact remains that I was unaware of their existence; I do not know the complainant, nor did I participate in any personal vendetta.”