The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico published the result of an investigation into the billing and disbursements issued for the dispensing of fuel to municipal vehicles. The complaint stated that the supplier billed at an overprice and submitted to the Municipality wholesaler documents that were not legitimate.
The investigation revealed that the supplier presented the Municipality with false invoices from the wholesaler. This represented a payment of $198,348 in excess for the investigated period from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021.
This situation, contrary to the second clause of the contracts formalized for fuel dispensing in 2019 and 2020, may have constituted a violation of Act 146-2012, Penal Code of Puerto Rico, as amended.
The result of this investigation was referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to the Department of Justice on March 3, 2022, so that they may carry out the processes they deem pertinent. The mayor is recommended to proceed with the recovery of the disbursements paid in excess to the supplier, among others.
The analysis of 48 invoices revealed that the supplier inserted the false invoices among the supporting documents. These invoice documents lacked the company logo and the wholesaler's contact information.
In addition, the supplier's invoices reflected higher prices than those billed by the wholesaler. The Municipality's pre-intervention officer confirmed to the Comptroller's auditors that he had never contacted the wholesaler to validate the authenticity of the invoices, nor did he notice the change in format.
The result of this investigation dated August 10, 2022.
See the Result of the investigation RIQ-DIE-23–03.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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