Man sentenced for construction fraud in Yauco and Guánica
Antonio Luis Cruz Batista received eight years of home confinement and must pay double the amount taken from two victims after pleading guilty to fraud and theft charges.
PhotoThe short version
- Metro Puerto Rico reports Antonio Luis Cruz Batista was sentenced Wednesday to eight years of home confinement and ordered to pay $147,336 in restitution
- El Nuevo Día states he represented Modern Home’s Gallery, Inc., which advertised home-building services on Facebook but failed to complete work after receiving payments
- NotiCel and other outlets confirm one victim paid $34,165 for an unfinished house in Yauco and another paid $39,503 for a house never built in Guánica
- Departamento de Justicia says Cruz Batista faces additional similar cases in other jurisdictions and will go to prison if he fails to pay restitution
Sentencing details
A man who took $73,668 through contracts to build homes in Yauco and Guánica was sentenced on Wednesday in the Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Ponce. Metro Puerto Rico reported that Antonio Luis Cruz Batista must serve eight years of home confinement and pay $147,336 in restitution to the victims. The amount is double what was taken.
Judge Zahira Torres Moro imposed the sentence after Cruz Batista pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in the execution of works and two counts of aggravated illegal appropriation. The Departamento de Justicia said he will be sent to prison if he does not pay the restitution. El Nuevo Día reported the same details.
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What the sources posted
Posts and statements below are the sources' own words, quoted as published. They are not independently verified.
Cruz Batista será ingresado a prisión si incumple con el pago de la restitución ordenada.
Our translation: Cruz Batista will be sent to prison if he fails to comply with the payment of the ordered restitution.
The source's own statement, as quoted by Metro Puerto Rico. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.
The scheme
According to the Fiscalía’s investigation, Cruz Batista represented Modern Home’s Gallery, Inc. The company promoted home-construction services on Facebook. Once clients signed contracts, he requested money to start or advance the work but did not fulfill the agreements and kept the funds. NotiCel reported this account.
One victim paid $34,165 for a residence in Yauco that was left unfinished. A second victim, a woman, paid $39,503 for a home in Guánica that was never built. The restitution ordered is $68,330 to the Yauco victim and $79,006 to the Guánica victim. The case was prosecuted by fiscal María Teresa Carro Lahongrais of the División de Delitos Económicos after an investigation by agent María Fabre of the Cuerpo de Investigaciones Criminales in Yauco.
Where the sources differ
All three sources agree on the defendant’s name (with minor spelling variations: Antonio Luis vs. Antonio Luiz), the eight-year home confinement sentence, the $73,668 taken, the two specific victim payments and the doubled restitution totaling $147,336. Metro Puerto Rico and NotiCel give nearly identical text on the facts and investigation. El Nuevo Día adds that Cruz Batista’s wife Evelyn Torres García was originally charged alongside him and that the couple faced a tax-evasion case, plus it references a 2024 story about additional complaints; the other two sources do not mention the wife or the tax case. All sources state he faces other similar cases in different jurisdictions.
What the reports do not say
The reports do not state when the contracts were signed, how long the victims waited before filing complaints, whether any construction materials were delivered, the current status of the unfinished house in Yauco, or details of the additional cases against Cruz Batista. They also do not say when those other proceedings will take place or whether any other victims have been identified beyond the two in this sentence.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Official Sentencian a hombre por fraude en construcción de viviendas en Yauco y Guánica
- Reporting Sentencian a hombre por fraude en construcción de viviendas en Yauco y Guánica
- Reporting Un falso contratista: sentencian a hombre por fraude en construcción de viviendas
- Reporting Sentencian a ocho años de restricción domiciliaria a hombre por fraude en construcción de viviendas
How we checked this
Metro Puerto Rico, El Nuevo Día and NotiCel all reported the sentencing of Antonio Luis Cruz Batista for the Yauco and Guánica construction fraud. The wife’s original involvement and the tax-evasion case rest solely on El Nuevo Día. The existence of additional similar cases was reported by the secretary of justice through all three outlets.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.