The US territory of Puerto Rico has long been rocked by political corruption, and the island is trying to claw back money stolen by those corrupt officials in a new lawsuit aimed at recovering over $30 million in stolen public funds.

This was announced by the US territory's Department of Justice, which stated that it is suing at least 30 former government officials accused of corruption. Among them are former legislators and mayors who have already been sentenced for their corrupt activities.

"We are going to recover the Puerto Rican people's money and claim an amount that totals three times the damage caused by those who have illegally appropriated public funds," said Puerto Rico Department of Justice Secretary Domingo Emanuelli in a statement.

According to the Associated Press, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice had long been accused of not cracking down sufficiently on widespread government corruption on the island and instead relying on the US federal government to go after these corrupt officials.

"For the first time on the island, the Puerto Rican Justice Department sued more than 30 convicts for corruption with the purpose of recovering public funds and demanding reparation for the damages they caused to the Puerto Rican people," said the Justice Department official.

In addition, it is also suing two companies, JR Asphalt Inc. and Waste Collection Corp., which have been linked to previous government corruption cases. Provisional measures to recover assets and restrict the defendants' ability to sell property could also be implemented.

Which Puerto Rico Officials Have Been Sued in the Sweeping New Corruption Case?

One of the former officials being sued by the Puerto Rican government includes disgraced former legislator Maria Milagros Charbonier, who was previously sentenced to eight years in federal prison after being found guilty of theft, bribery, and a kickback scheme.

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She is said to be the biggest name on the list, and one of three former legislators sued. Eight former mayors were also sued, including famous ones like Felix Delgado and Angel Perez.

Delgado pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in exchange for awarding millions of dollars worth of municipal contracts and was sentenced last March to a year in prison. Meanwhile, Perez was found guilty of bribery and extorsion and then sentenced to over five years in federal prison.

Accused Puerto Rico Legislator Received Massive Kickbacks and Was Sentenced to Prison for It

In the case of Legislator María Milagros Charbonier-Laureano, better known in Puerto Rico as Tata, she inflated the salary of her assistant, Frances Acevedo-Ceballos, from $800 on a bi-weekly, after-tax basis to nearly $2,900. From this inflated paycheck, she would keep a portion of it for herself.

"Out of every inflated paycheck, it was agreed that Acevedo-Ceballos would keep a portion, and kick back between $1,000 and $1,500 to Charbonier-Laureano and Montes-Rivera," said US Attorney for Puerto Rico, William Stephen Muldrow.

In addition, she also deleted evidence such as messages from her WhatsApp and iMessage and the cellphone's call log once she found out investigators were on her tail, according to Loop Caribbean News.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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