Justice Secretary Lourdes Gómez Torres said Tuesday that she referred the complaints filed by La Fortaleza Chief of Staff, Francisco Domenech Fernández, against former Department of Economic Development and Commerce Secretary, Sebastián Negrón Reichard, to the Office of the Panel on the Independent Special Prosecutor as a precautionary measure, following public claims of a potential […]
Justice Secretary Lourdes Gómez Torres said Tuesday that she referred the complaints filed by La Fortaleza Chief of Staff, Francisco Domenech Fernández, against former Department of Economic Development and Commerce Secretary, Sebastián Negrón Reichard, to the Office of the Panel on the Independent Special Prosecutor as a precautionary measure, following public claims of a potential conflict of interest.
“I wish to emphasize that the Department of Justice has the full capacity, rigor and integrity to investigate this case independently and objectively. Therefore, we categorically reject any insinuation of a conflict of interest on our part. Nevertheless, in light of public speculation and solely to avoid even the mere appearance or mistaken perception of a conflict, we have taken the precautionary step of referring this matter directly to the Office of the Panel on the Independent Special Prosecutor,” Gómez Torres said in written remarks.
The complaints were submitted through sworn statements and an evidence file, according to the Justice Department.
Earlier on Tuesday, Domenech submitted additional documentary evidence to the Department of Justice and the Office of Government Ethics (OEG) that, according to him, substantiates earlier allegations that Negrón Reichard, failed to properly recuse himself from a tax decree requested by his wife — and that the case advanced unusually fast inside the agency.
The new materials, which include internal workflow records from DDEC’s Incentives Office, were delivered on June 22 along with a supplemental sworn statement. Domenech said the documents contradict public statements made last week by Negrón Reichard and former Incentives Director Ernesto Zayas García; both of whom denied having processed or intervened in any decree application submitted by María Beatriz Gorostiaga Zubizarreta.
According to the affidavit, Gorostiaga filed application 2025Act60/2100.01000504 on March 1, 2026, seeking a Young Entrepreneur decree under Act 60. However, the file contains documents submitted months earlier — in August 2025, December 2025, and February 2026 — indicating that the process had been underway well before Negrón Reichard filed a recusal mechanism with OEG. The agency’s response to his recusal request is dated May 1, 2026, and explicitly states it is not retroactive.
Internal records show that by March 17, 2026, just 16 days after the formal application was filed, Incentives Office staff had already prepared a draft decree and a draft recommendation sheet for the secretary’s consideration. On April 13, the draft was sent to the Treasury Department for comments with a 10 day deadline, even though OEG had not yet issued a determination on the recusal.
The file further shows that Treasury’s review window expired on April 28 without objections, and the system flagged the case as ready to proceed. On May 26, two days before Negrón Reichard left the agency, the application was marked “Listo para evaluación final,” meaning ready for final evaluation.
Domenech emphasized that the pace of the case stands out when compared with the hundreds of Act 60 applications typically handled by the DDEC — including 149 that Negrón Reichard left pending upon his departure. “The documents of the internal transaction at DDEC on this decree speak for themselves,” he wrote in the public statement.
Domenech asked both Justice and OEG to incorporate the new evidence into the ongoing investigation into potential violations of the Ethics Act (Law 12012) and the Puerto Rico Penal Code. He also requested that investigators examine whether Zayas García received instructions from Negrón Reichard to accelerate the decree for his spouse.
The supplemental affidavit asserts that the internal timeline “contradicts both former officials” and raises questions about who within the DDEC knew of the application, who intervened, and whether preferential treatment was granted.
Both agencies are already reviewing Domenech’s initial June 17 referral against Negron Reichard. The new evidence, he said, should help clarify whether the former secretary’s actions constituted a conflict of interest under Puerto Rico law.
