Nancy Hernández sentenced to six years in prison - Caribbean Business Online - 28/09/09

Beleaguered local banker Nancy Hernández was sentenced Monday to six years in prison for bank fraud, the Courts Administrations Office announced. The former president of New York Mortgage Bankers (NYMB) pleaded guilty June 17 to violations of the Mortgage Institutions Law in a deal with local prosecutors that shielded her daughter from prosecution in the $1.75 million fraud case. Her sentence was handed down by San Juan Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Llompart. Prosecutors dropped 22 other counts against Hernández and agreed not to pursue the case against her daughter, NYMB Vice President Noemí Pérez Hernández, Courts Administration spokeswoman Valerie Mercado indicated at the time. The two women were charged in October of last year for allegedly illegally retaining or delaying payments clients made to creditors to pay off old mortgages or loans after obtaining a loan from New York Mortgage Bankers (NYMB). The criminal charges stemmed from an investigation launched in 2003 by the island Financial Institutions Commissioner's Office (OCIF), the local Justice Department's Special Investigations Bureau and Justice Department prosecutors. [Open link for full report.]