Opinion ID: 202748
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández

Text: 60 The record also contained considerable evidence from which a reasonable jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández knowingly engaged in a scheme to defraud Caguas by misrepresenting material information. The certifications they submitted and signed contained many misrepresentations. For example, on the Los Mameyes project, between December 9, 1985 and January 10, 1986, Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández submitted nine certifications attesting to the manufacture of 74 housing units and requesting payments totaling $380,000, even though the inspector's report stated that only 19 houses had been built. Between January 16 and February 21, 1986, Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández submitted 10 more certifications attesting to the manufacture of 90 additional housing units and requesting payment of approximately $500,000, at which point payment had been disbursed for at least 164 housing units even though only 40 units had been manufactured. As of February 25, 1986, Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández had certified the completion of 200 units, but an inspection report dated March 23, 1986, indicated that only 55 units had been built. On March 31, 1986, Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández submitted a certification requesting $69,000 for payment of subcontractors along with a list of interest payments they had made on other projects, including Jardines de Villa Alba, Levittown, Country Club, La Marina, and Los Caciques, which equalled exactly $69,000. Finally, on June 26, 1986, Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández submitted a special certification of $85,000 with no justification for work allegedly completed; Kareh testified that such a certification was not a usual practice. Sánchez-Arán authorized the disbursements based on these certifications. 61 Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández submitted similar certifications for work not completed on other projects. For example, on the Jardines de Villa Alba project, Modules had installed only one unit as of the time of the Denby letter on January 10, 1988; however, on October 22, 1985 Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández certified that twenty-two units had been completed, causing $626,000 to be disbursed to Modules. 62 Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández perpetuated their scheme by recruiting other developers to obtain loans from Caguas on the condition that they use Modules as the contractor. This conduct allowed Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández to obtain new funding for Modules, which they would then use to pay down prior loans and keep Modules from collapsing. Developer Burns, the original owner of the Cerrovista project, was a typical example. After unsuccessfully applying to Caguas for a loan to build residential housing on land he owned, Burns met with Umpierre-Hernández, who told him that if he used Modules as his contractor and signed a $2 million note he would be approved for a loan. A week later Burns received financing for the Cerrovista project. He testified that the approval was [d]efinitely[] because of the use of Modules. Burns met with Umpierre-Hernández on many other occasions, and, after problems arose with the Cerrovista project, with Umpierre-Hernández and Sánchez-Arán in Sánchez-Arán's office. Subsequently, Umpierre-Hernández told Burns that the project would be sold to Iantho, and explained that this project was going to contribute to paying off some interest for some of the projects that were in default, which caused Burns to understand that was the reason . . . I was rejected as sponsor. 18 63 On September 10, 1986, Sánchez-Arán presented, and the Board approved, a loan of $8.9 million to Iantho Corporation to take over the Cerrovista project; the loan agreement specified that Modules would be the contractor for the project's two hundred units. Burns testified that, around the time the project was being sold, he received confirmation that the Department of Transportation's plans to build a hospital and expressway would cause the development of four lots of the project to be frozen. When told the news, Umpierre-Hernández responded, hide it, boy. On September 28, 1986, Cerrovista was sold to Iantho with no mention of the impending development. 64 Taken in the light most favorable to the government, the evidence shows that Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández knowingly concealed information relevant to the viability of the Cerrovista project and submitted many certifications for work that was not completed. To sustain their schemes, they recruited other developers and helped them receive funding from Caguas on the condition that these developers use Modules as a contractor. These activities caused Caguas to continue lending money to Gutiérrez-owned companies despite the companies' financial instability, providing an ample basis for a jury to find that appellants knowingly schemed to defraud Caguas by means of material misrepresentations within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. Consequently, we conclude that a reasonable jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that both Gutiérrez and Umpierre-Hernández were guilty of bank fraud. 65