Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses former executives of taking control of the Cibao Oncology Center to embezzle public funds

Santo Domingo.- The Public Ministry asserted that a structure headed by the former director of the Cibao Regional Oncological Institute (IORC), Héctor Antonio Lora Cruceta, had maintained administrative control of that institution with the purpose of irregularly disposing of economic resources intended for the care of cancer patients and funds from the National Health Insurance (SeNaSa).

The indictment is part of Operation Onco14, deployed by the General Directorate of Prosecution of the Public Ministry, the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca), and the Santiago Prosecutor’s Office, which culminated in the arrest of Lora Cruceta, his current wife Luisa Yasiris Guzmán, and his ex-wife Dilcia Isabel Vargas Sánchez.

According to the investigation, the group had developed an organized structure to embezzle public funds through different fraudulent methods from the Patronato Cibaeño Contra el Cáncer, the entity responsible for managing the Cibao Regional Oncology Institute, one of the main centers specializing in cancer treatment in the northern region of the country.

The authorities indicated that Lora Cruceta was appointed president of the board on October 9, 2018, and that, despite the bylaws establishing a two-year management term, he remained at the head of the institution until October 2025.

According to the file, this tenure would have allowed him to consolidate control over the administration and resources of the institute, as well as execute actions aimed at benefiting from state contributions intended to finance medical treatments for cancer patients, especially those affiliated with the SeNaSa subsidized regime.

You can read: Former executives of the Cibao Regional Oncological Institute in Santiago raided and arrested

The Public Ministry maintains that the structure operated with the participation of employees and individuals linked to the board of trustees, who allegedly acted in a coordinated manner to facilitate the irregular extraction of financial resources intended for the provision of health services.

Investigations also indicate that the business entities Vargas Lora & Asociados, currently named Vargas Guzmán Accounting Center, and the Fundación Tócate RD-Casa de Acogida, may have been used within the operations under investigation to channel part of the fraudulent maneuvers.

During the raids carried out as part of Operation Onco14, the authorities seized cash, a firearm, vehicles, financial and administrative documents, computers, cell phones, digital recording equipment (DVR), and property titles, evidence that will be analyzed as part of the judicial process.

The head of the Public Ministry’s General Directorate of Prosecution, Wilson Camacho, highlighted that this case constitutes the third criminal structure dismantled as a result of the investigations related to the frauds that affected SeNaSa, which began after Operation Cobra.

The defendants will face charges for criminal conspiracy, fraud against the Dominican State, bribery, high-tech crimes, illicit access to computer systems, misuse of access codes, and money laundering.