Panama Judge Orders Arrest for 10 of the 23 Involved in the Diploma Forgery Scheme Verifying Fraud at the Ministry of Education.

 Judge Irene Cedeño applied the precautionary measure of provisional detention for 10 of the 23 defendants charged with money laundering, embezzlement and corruption as part of a network that allegedly falsified diplomas to obtain appointments and improve salaries within the Ministry of Education (Meduca).  In a hearing that began last Thursday and concluded at 7:30 pm yesterday, Sunday, August 30, Judge Cedeño also applied the precautionary measure of house arrest to 13 other defendants. This measure was adopted for humanitarian reasons, as some of the defendants exhibited health problems.  During the hearing, the judge accepted the charges presented by prosecutor Elizabeth Carrión pictured below, for crimes of document forgery, illegal practice of the profession, embezzlement, organized crime and money laundering. 

Prosecutor Elizabeth Carrión.

The judge considered that in this case the precautionary measures applied were the most suitable because they involved serious crimes, and she considered that society was affected by having teachers who were not suitable to teach and who received remuneration from the State.  According to the prosecution’s investigation, the criminal group caused financial damage to the State in the amount of $767,687 and, in addition, caused serious harm to other teachers who qualified to perform educational work, but who were not selected.

Modus Operandi.

According to the investigation, the criminal group, which included officials from the Meduca Information Technology Department, created fake profiles of teachers who supposedly had studied at the University of Cartago, which closed in 2014, and included them as part of their resume to participate in the teacher and professor selection process.  The prosecution managed to locate in the banks that one of the defendants had $70,000 that is presumed to be the product of the collection made from the teachers and professors who requested his services.  The investigation revealed that the defendants paid up to $4,000 for the alteration of information and that, if they did not have funds to pay, they were taken to a finance company where they were granted a loan managed by a teacher, who in turn received a commission from the company.  Prosecutor Carrión alleged that the group within Meduca acted as a criminal organization in which there was a division of tasks and movement of money resulting from illicit activity.