María Cristina Cotto-Ortiz, Bank Embezzlement Scheme, PR 2017

María Cristina Cotto-Ortiz, former second-in-command at Oriental Bank’s Ceiba branch, has been indicted on 33 federal charges tied to a years-long scheme that ripped off her employer and an elderly couple of more than $768,800. A federal grand jury in Puerto Rico returned the indictment on January 17, 2017, charging Cotto-Ortiz with five counts of theft by a bank employee, 13 counts of bank fraud, 12 counts of making false entries in bank records, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer.

According to the indictment, Cotto-Ortiz used her position of trust to siphon funds directly from the bank’s vault and working cash, falsifying the general ledger to cover her tracks. Between 2006 and 2012, she also targeted an elderly couple who banked at Oriental, persuading them to deposit over $400,000—nearly their entire life savings—into accounts she promised would earn high interest. Instead, she routinely accepted their deposits without logging them or sending them to the bank, while also withdrawing their money without permission.

The victims, who trusted Cotto-Ortiz due to her role at the bank, initially transferred $160,000 and continued funding the accounts over five years based on her false promises. Meanwhile, Cotto-Ortiz funneled the cash for her own use, leaving the victims with nothing. Even after she was fired in February 2012, she and her husband, Natanael Pacheco Martínez, met with the couple and handed them a $500 check—an act prosecutors allege was intended to delay discovery of the fraud.

Pacheco Martínez is now charged as an accessory after the fact, accused of helping Cotto-Ortiz avoid arrest, trial, and punishment once he knew about her crimes. His cooperation, prosecutors say, extended the reach of the deception and prolonged the victims’ suffering. If convicted, Cotto-Ortiz faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each bank fraud, misappropriation, and false entry count; up to five years and a fine for unauthorized computer access; and a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence for each aggravated identity theft count.

For his role, Pacheco-Martínez faces up to half the statutory maximum penalty of the principal defendant. U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez Vélez condemned the betrayal of trust at the heart of the case: “The egregious behavior of those who exploit our banking system or its clients for personal and criminal gain will not be tolerated. We are particularly concerned when former bank officials, who have held positions of trust, are alleged to have committed these crimes.”

The FBI led the investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Z. Jorgensen of the Financial Fraud and Corruption Unit. The indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. María Cristina Cotto-Ortiz and Natanael Pacheco Martínez are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.