SANTIAGO .- The Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services of this province imposed three months of preventive detention against a man who defrauded several people who gave him money for supposed visa procedures, for a promise of employment contracts in the United States.
At the request of the Public Ministry, Judge Víctor Bienvenido Liz imposed the measure of coercion against Kelvin Antonio Peña, for violation of articles 405 and 408 of the Dominican Penal Code.
The defendant faces charges of committing fraud and breach of trust to the detriment of Leonel Moreta Rodríguez, whom he defrauded of RD$133,600; Ysisdoro de León Valerio, who lost RD$30,000; Víctor Manuel de Jesús Paulino, defrauded of RD$130,000; Miguel Ángel Rosario Martínez, RD$90,000; Samuel Páez Carpio, RD$90,000; Lucía Abreu, RD$87,400 and US$300; Juan Páez Mingo, whom he defrauded of RD$3,600, and Juan Bautista Abreu, who gave the accused the sum of RD$13,600 in cash and another RD$11,000 in products from a grocery store.
The litigator Heidys de León, representing the Public Ministry, explained to the court that, in order to convince his victims, the fraudster assured that he was a businessman and shareholder of a company that offered jobs in the United States and that those interested had to cover the cost of issuance of visas and the payment of taxes for the travel suitcases.
The chief prosecutor of Santiago, Osvaldo Bonilla, indicated that the criminal prosecution body is conducting a broad investigation into the scope of the fraudulent actions of Kelvin Antonio Peña and the number of people affected, in search of the appropriate sanctions. However, he urged citizens to remain alert to detect these fraudulent offers in time, so that the possibilities of scams are reduced to a minimum.
