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United States of America v. Juan Colon-Rodriguez

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Before Torruella, Selya and Lipez, Circuit Judges.

Hurricane Georges struck Puerto Rico on September 21, 1998. In the storm’s wake, the island was declared a “major disaster” area eligible for various federal aid programs. See United States v. Alfonzo-Reyes, 592 F.3d 280, 284 (1st Cir. 2010). One such program, administered by the Farm Service Agency (“FSA”), offered low-interest emergency loans to qualified farmers to help restore farming operations or rebuild structures damaged by the hurricane. See id.

Because of the complexity of the loan application process, the FSA trained a number of independent contractors to assist farmers in preparing and filing the necessary documentation. Among these contractors was appellant Juan Colon-Rodriguez (“Colon”), an agronomist with a degree in agricultural sciences. In all, Colon submitted successful loan applications on behalf of at least eight farmers, earning approximately $45,000 in commissions. During a 2002 audit, however, the FSA discovered a series of irregularities in these applications. Colon was indicted in late 2007 and convicted in 2009 in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on twelve counts of making false statements on FSA loan applications in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014 and one count of defrauding a financial institution in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. He was found not guilty on five other counts.

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