NewsWhore
08-10-2006, 03:20 PM
Manuel Arturo Pellerano Pena and Juan Felipe Mendoza Gomez have been found guilty of several felonies against the Dominican state and were sentenced to three years in prison and the payment of RD$1 million each in damages. The ruling was issued by Judges Antonio Sanchez Mejia, Esmirna Mendez and Ileana Perez of the Criminal Chamber of the National District Court of First Instance. The result of the ruling was read by Court President Judge Sanchez Mejia at 1:55 today, as reported by El Caribe. The complete ruling will be read during a hearing on 17 August at 2pm. The convicts were accused by the Department for the Prevention of Corruption (DEPRECO) of falsification of public or authentic, commercial or banking writings, criminal association and manipulation of data and documents in prejudice of the Dominican state. The conviction requested was eight years in prison and RD$2.5 million in damages. The convicts' attorneys, Antonio and Fernando Longa, Santiago Rodriguez and Tulio Collado, requested their clients' acquittal on the grounds that the accusations had not been proven and that there was insufficient evidence.
Clave Digital points out that the judges' decision was unanimous. The lawsuit was originally filed by a group of Banco Nacional de Credito (Bancredito) clients who claimed that they had been defrauded by the former bank executives. After an out-of-court settlement, the clients withdrew their suit. However, the Justice Department found that there was sufficient proof to maintain the indictment in addition to another indictment for fraud amounting to over RD$23 billion, which is still pending trial.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)
Clave Digital points out that the judges' decision was unanimous. The lawsuit was originally filed by a group of Banco Nacional de Credito (Bancredito) clients who claimed that they had been defrauded by the former bank executives. After an out-of-court settlement, the clients withdrew their suit. However, the Justice Department found that there was sufficient proof to maintain the indictment in addition to another indictment for fraud amounting to over RD$23 billion, which is still pending trial.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)