Nelson Del Valle Colón, Bribery, Puerto Rico 2022

State: Puerto Rico
Category: Public Corruption
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-pr/pr/former-puerto-rico-legislator-sentenced-57-months-bribery-and-kickback-scheme" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

Crime pays, but not for former Puerto Rico legislator Nelson Del Valle Colón, who was sentenced to 57 months in prison for engaging in a brazen bribery and kickback scheme. The 56-year-old politician, who hails from Dorado, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty to federal program bribery on March 31, 2022.

According to court documents, Del Valle Colón was elected to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives in 2016 and thereafter hired Mildred Estrada-Rojas and her daughter, Nickolle Santos-Estrada, to work in his legislative office. However, in exchange for their employment and salaries, Estrada and Santos paid biweekly kickbacks to Del Valle Colón ranging from $500 to $1,300 from early 2017 until approximately July 2020.

The kickbacks were paid in a variety of ways, including cash payments in envelopes provided by Estrada and Santos, and even mobile phone cash transfers through ATH Móvil. Del Valle Colón, Estrada, and Santos all admitted to their roles in the bribery scheme, with Del Valle Colón facing the harshest penalty.

Nelson Del Valle Colón, 56, of Dorado, Puerto Rico, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for federal program bribery. He was also ordered to pay $190,000 in restitution.

District of Puerto Rico federal program bribery charges were filed against Del Valle Colón. He was elected to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives in 2016.

The FBI’s San Juan Field Office investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Jonathan E. Jacobson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Anderson are prosecuting.

Del Valle Colón is the third defendant to be sentenced in this case, with Estrada and Santos scheduled to be sentenced on September 28 and September 16, respectively. Their sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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