CHRISTIANSTED — Reinaldo Cruz Taura, president of Puerto Rico-based RCT Mechanical Engineering, was sentenced to eight months in prison and two years of home confinement for providing kickbacks in connection with federal government subcontracts to perform work on the federal building and courthouse in St. Croix and on U.S. Coast Guard facilities in Puerto Rico.
According to court documents filed in the case, from June 2011 through June 2015, Taura paid over $1.2 million in kickbacks to a senior project manager for the prime contractor on the St. Croix and Puerto Rico projects.
“In addition, Taura falsely inflated the expenses billed under the subcontract in order to cover the costs of the aforementioned kickbacks,” U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said.
This case was investigated by the General Services Administration – Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of the Inspector General, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Agriculture – Office of the Inspector General, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nathan Brooks and Kyle Payne.