In the run-up to his sentence, the federal prosecutor’s office accused the producer of unlawful conduct so that the judge would take this into account when pronouncing the verdict.
Attorney General José Ruiz Santiago.
Photo: Nahira Montcourt
After he was accused of perjury before the State Department, federal prosecutors produced banking and financial documents alleging tax evasion by reggaeton producer Rafael Pina Nieves.
The series of allegations are not new crimes or charges against the producer, but arguments and evidence that the United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico is presenting to Federal Judge Francisco Besosa for consideration in sentencing on April 18 for the guilty verdict Pina Nieves received last December for the felony firearms possession because she was a convict of a federal felony and possessed an illegal gun.
Both the evidence of perjury and tax evasion stem from the financial information Pina Nieves is required to provide to the parole board in preparing the report that the judge will receive to support his verdict.
Perjury occurred when Pina Nieves, as the president and sole director of her company, Mr. Soldout, Inc., testified before the State Department that the company had no more than $3 million in business in 2019, when in fact it was all that other forms he had to submit showed that he had nearly $17 million in income.
To this end, the producer’s defense argued that he was not the one who personally filed the filing with the state, that it was his accountant, that it was a mistake and that, given the testimony of the prosecutor, he ordered the file in which state to be changed to reflect reality.
Prosecutors’ new charges relate to tax evasion and emerges as the story behind the $2 million bank account that Pina Nieves said in an intercepted call was “dust and straw free.”
When federal authorities searched the producer’s residence in the Caguas Real urbanization and found the weapons giving rise to the allegations, they also found a checkbook that matched an account where Pina Nieves had deposited around $2 million.
Now, prosecutor José Ruiz Santiago submitted to the judge the producer’s 2020 income tax return, in which he reported receiving income from Mr. Soldout, Inc. for as little as $176,000, and also presented bank documents showing the company January 30 had issued him a check for $1,862,120.97 and the producer deposited it days later.
“Mr. Soldout, Inc.’s income reported by the convict upon his return in 2020 ($176,000.00) is less than 10% of the amount of the 2400 check ($1,862,120.97) that was issued in his name and deposited into his personal bank account in 2020. This is prima facie evidence of tax evasion at a time when the bail convict in this case is awaiting trial,” Ruiz Santiago argued to the judge.
As part of the evidence presented at trial, it was revealed that the phone tapping that led to the search and discovery of the weapons took place in connection with another active investigation into Pina Nieves for money laundering.
This investigation has not yet brought any charges.
See:
Rafy Pina alleges error and no perjury in filing the false report
Federal prosecutors allege perjury to “Raphy” Pina
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