Preventive prison imposed on defendant linked to corruption network dismantled in Operation Cobra

Santo Domingo.- Accepting the request of the Public Ministry, a judge of the National District imposed preventive prison for 18 months to Ángel Luis Guzmán Vásquez for his connection with the corruption network that stole billions of pesos to the detriment of the National Health Insurance (SeNaSa).

The Attorney General of the Court Mirna Ortiz, head of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca), valued the decision of Judge Rigoberto Sena, who also declared the complex processing process. "The judge also agreed with the Public Prosecutor that these are serious acts that not only attack public funds, but also the health of the people from whom money was drained from their medical insurance and that this could eventually translate into a lack of assistance, coverage, and services," Ortiz said. He recalled that the case of Guzmán Vásquez is opened as a result of one of the lines of investigation developed by the Public Ministry based on Operation Cobra, which confronted the structure that affected the funds of SeNaSa.

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"His role, despite being an assistant in a department, was the fact that he had access to information sources. He had access to the programs; he had access to privileged codes; he incorporated codes from doctors. They billed for services without being offered because he had all the access being an employee of the institution," he pointed out. He said that Guzmán Vásquez has not denied the strength of the accusations, although he tries to defend himself from some. "But, the judge understood and, as he establishes in his resolution, that the facts occurred as the Public Prosecutor's Office related in its measure," he emphasized. The Public Ministry during the hearing was represented in the litigation by the head of Pepca, Mirna Ortiz, as well as by the prosecutors Rosa Alba García Alexis Piña and Emmanuel Ramírez. Ortiz referred to the process when answering questions from journalists covering the judicial source after the imposition of the coercive measure.

The process

According to the prosecution, Guzmán Vásquez is linked to the corruption network that stole billions of pesos from the Dominican State and to the detriment of the National Health Insurance (SeNaSa). Guzmán Vásquez, who served as an assistant in the Medical Authorizations Department at SeNaSa, from March 8, 2021, to November 1, 2022, tried to leave the country bound for Boston, United States, without having a return ticket to the country. The defendant is linked to irregular authorizations of medical procedures and consultations as part of the criminal network that defrauded SeNaSa through the use of different fraudulent maneuvers and modalities, to obtain economic amounts outside the legally established parameters. As part of Operation Cobra, the Public Ministry is investigating fraudulent service authorizations requested between January 28, 2021 and February 20, 2025, totaling 4,363 for minor outpatient surgery and specialized consultation, with an accumulated amount of at least RD$41,125,551.02. Following the launch of Operation Cobra last December, Santiago Marcelo F. Hazim Albainy, former director of SeNaSa and ringleader of the corruption scheme, was arrested and brought to justice. Yesterday, the 18 months of pre-trial detention he has been serving since December of last year at the Najayo Hombres Correction and Rehabilitation Center in San Cristóbal were ratified. Along with Hazim Albainy, Gustavo Enrique Messina Cruz, Francisco Iván Minaya Pérez, Germán Rafael Robles Quiñones, Rafael Luis Martínez Hazim, Ada Ledesma Ubiera, and Ramón Alan Speakler Mateo also comply with the same measure of coercion. Also processed in the case are Cinty Acosta Sención, Heidi Mariela Pineda Perdomo, and Eduardo Read Estrella, who have coercive measures of house arrest, financial guarantees, and a ban on leaving the country. Court prosecutor Mirna Ortiz highlights that the judge, like the Public Ministry, understood that these are serious events that affected SeNaSA funds.