Spanish
Santo Domingo Oeste. – The Permanent Attention Office of Santo Domingo Oeste postponed the preliminary hearing of the Coop-Herrera case until next Friday, October 3, at 9:00 in the morning, in which an alleged embezzlement of more than 2.5 billion pesos is being investigated.
The day was marked by the absence of most of the plaintiffs, who were unable to attend the court due to the inclement weather and the red alert that remains in much of the country. Even so, some affected partners showed up and raised their voices in demand for justice.
During today's session, an alternative accusation was also presented against Franco de los Santos, one of the former directors identified by the Public Ministry as a key figure in the administrative and financial irregularities detected at the Herrera Savings and Credit Cooperative. De los Santos, who for years was one of the visible faces of the entity, is among the main defendants in the case.
Upon leaving the courtroom, the plaintiffs who managed to appear despite the climatic difficulties took the opportunity to demand greater speed in the judicial process.
“Today, one of the accused, Gabriel Borsilea, appeared, and that shows that the case is advancing. But we need it to move faster, because we want our savings. This process has been going on for three years and many partners are sick, others have died because of this critical situation. We ask the Public Ministry to expedite it, and above all, President Luis Abinader to come to our aid. Mr. President, you can resolve it,” expressed Naira Villa Puerto Real firmly.
In the same vein, another of the plaintiffs, Lucía Sánchez, confirmed that an alternative accusation had been filed against Franco de los Santos. "What we ask is that the esteemed Mr. President abide by the struggle we cooperativists have, and that IDECOOP fulfill its role. Hopefully this does not turn violent, that everything is resolved with dignity. We trust in you, Mr. President, for justice to be done in the name of the dispossessed of this country," she said.
For his part, Jesús Martínez Garo insisted that the State must intervene to guarantee the savings of the members. "This is a social problem that cannot continue to be postponed. We need an answer for thousands of families who trusted the cooperative."
While Jesús Gómez, representative of some affected foreigners, including members of the Tafuri family, valued the progress of the process, although he acknowledged that it is still in a preliminary phase: “Now we are in the stage of evidence evaluation, and that is important, but what we need most is to guarantee the right of savers, many of whom have lost everything they had.”
You may be interested in: The United Kingdom will implement a mandatory digital identity card to stop illegal immigration
The testimonies agreed on the same point: the desperation of those who placed their trust and money in Coop-Herrera and today demand not only justice, but also the return of resources that, they claim, they obtained with years of work and sacrifice. "That money was earned through sweat, and we need it to survive. I myself am standing because God gives me strength, but there are many sick people. We cannot tire, because our fight is just," said Naira Villa The Coop-Herrera case originated after an audit that revealed alleged anomalies in the handling of funds, including irregular loans, diversion of resources, and violations of cooperative transparency principles. Although it is in a preliminary stage, the process keeps thousands of members in suspense who claim to have been defrauded and who have been demanding justice and the return of their contributions for three years.
