FBI agents raided municipal offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday, seizing documents and digital records as part of an investigation into fraud allegations related to the city government. Special agent in charge Douglas Leff said federal investigators are also looking into potential obstruction of the investigation. According to Leff, agents believe documents tied to the reported irregularities in the city's purchasing procedures might have been taken from the building or falsified. At least 20 agents, mostly unarmed, entered the building carrying briefcases, cameras, electronic equipment and coffee, Puerto Rican news agency El Nuevo Día reported. The raid was focused on the offices of San Juan's Purchasing Division. When asked if San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz was implicated in the investigation, Leff said, "We have no information about that, but we are going to follow the investigation where it leads us." The mayor's office is in San Juan City Hall, in a separate location from the building raided by the FBI. Cruz tweeted Tuesday morning that she instructed city officials to cooperate with federal authorities. "If someone has done something wrong, they should undergo due process and face the consequences of their actions," Cruz said. Cruz often sparred with President Donald Trump after Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory last year. Their feud was recently rekindled after Trump expressed doubt about research that indicated the hurricane was responsible for nearly 3,000 deaths, a dramatic increase from the previous official death toll of 64. Trump has blamed the slow response to the damage caused by Maria on inefficiencies in the Puerto Rican government. Last month, Trump sent a tweet quoting conservative Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, who said Puerto Rico is run by "one of the most corrupt governments in our country." The fraud investigation was sparked by an anonymous tip to the comptroller's office of favoritism in how the mayor's office rewarded contracts, according to El Nuevo Día, The allegation was centered on a $4.7 million contract awarded to construction company BR Solutions. The company is owned by businessman Leonel Pereira O’Neill, who has made political donations to a number of Puerto Rican politicians, including Cruz, El Nuevo Día reported. The FBI has not identified any suspects in the case, but Leff told reporters that a conviction for the type of fraud alleged would likely carry a maximum sentence of five years.<doc-sep>The media provided a spotlight for the mayor of San Juan in Puerto Rico when she assailed President Donald Trump over the government's hurricane response, but there's much less coverage of a raid by the FBI on the city government offices. Here's what happened San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz criticized the president for what she said was a lack of proper government response to Hurricane Maria, but the FBI is investigating allegations that she or other government officials acted improperly over purchasing procedures. FBI spokesperson Carlos Osorio told the Washington Examiner that more than 10 agents, but fewer than 50, raided the municipal offices Tuesday. He called the operation "pretty big" and said it was conducted over several hours. He indicated that the raid was targeting members of the city government, but not the mayor specifically. "We have received allegations that they have been fixing contracts, that they are falsifying documents," Osorio said, "these having to do with federal funds because if not, we would not have any jurisdiction. "They’re not directed at the mayor, but against people that work at the tower," he added. Mayor Cruz tweeted about the raid from her social media account in Spanish. “At this time, members of the FBI are intervening in the Municipal Tower of SJ. My instructions as always are of total collaboration,” Cruz wrote, as translated to English. “I have no more information right now," she added. "We all have a duty to work together to clarify this situation." A local reporter posted video of the raid to his social media account.<doc-sep>FBI agents raided San Juan's municipal building on Tuesday amid an investigation into purchasing practices used by city officials, including Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. Video posted on Twitter shows several uniformed FBI agents proceeding into the building Tuesday morning. Local journalist Luis Guardiola noted in a tweet that dozens of FBI agents were involved in the raid. Decenas de agentes del FBI ocupan el 15to piso de la Torre Municipal. Asi llegaron esta mañana los federales. pic.twitter.com/z3h1CObwLp — Luis Guardiola (@GuardiolaTwitt) October 16, 2018 A spokesman for the agency told news service elnuevodia.com that Tuesday's raid was related to an ongoing investigation into whether the mayor's office and other city officials had shown favoritism when the city agreed to a contract with the company BR Solutions for $4.7 million over two years. ADVERTISEMENT BR Solutions is owned by Leonel Pereira O'Neill, a Puerto Rican businessman who has donated to the campaigns of several local politicians, including Cruz's, according to the news service. "The raid helps us to confirm whether the allegations of irregularities are substantiated or not," FBI spokesman Carlos Osario told the website. "We are filling out a search warrant, looking for documents and evidence that can support the allegation [of favoritism]," he added. The raid came several weeks after President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE singled out Cruz while attacking Puerto Rican officials for the slow recovery efforts on the island, accusing the municipal officials of allowing widespread corruption. “It was a total mess, it was corrupt — couldn’t be worse," Trump said in an interview last month. “The storms hit and they said, ‘Oh let’s blame Trump for the electric, let’s have Trump — let’s have Trump fix the electric plant,' which takes a long time to rebuild it, which is a big deal." Cruz reacted to the raid in a series of tweets Tuesday morning, pledging her office's full cooperation with authorities. "At the moment, members of the FBI are intervening in the Municipal Tower of San Juan. My instructions as always are of total collaboration," Cruz wrote in Spanish on Twitter. "At this time, I do not have more information. We all have the duty to collaborate to clarify this situation. If someone has done something wrong, must be subjected to a due process and face the consequences of their actions, " she added. En estos momentos miembros del FBi están interviniendo en la Torre Municipal de SJ. Mis instrucciones como siempre son de total colaboración — Carmen Yulín Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) October 16, 2018 En estos momentos no tengo más información. Todos tenemos el deber de colaborar para esclarecer esta situación 2/3 — Carmen Yulín Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) October 16, 2018<doc-sep>The administration of the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, who shot to international fame after criticizing President Trump for not doing enough to help Hurricane Maria victims, is being investigated by the FBI on corruption charges, according a local news outlet. Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz and her administration are under fire for allegedly obstructing critical supplies from reaching victims of the category-4 hurricane that leveled much of the tiny U.S. territory nearly nine months ago. The FBI reportedly launched the investigation following a February lawsuit filed by Yadira Molina, the former director of procurement. Molina claims she was retaliated against for reporting “alleged irregular acts” to the local comptroller. “On February 21, Molina sued the city council after reporting alleged acts of corruption in the shopping division in the town hall under the administration of Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz Soto,” according to El Vocero de Puerto Rico. “She comes out, goes on television and pats herself on the back." — Simon Menendez, small business owner in San Juan The report says Molina claims she was punished for reporting on the allegedly rigged system and that she was blocked from her right “to report wrongdoing in her capacity as a private citizen, not as a public employee.” Shortly after Cruz became mayor, Molina claims a supply company was granted “preferred supplier” status which paid them more than three times what regular suppliers made. She also alleges that other city officials engaged in a corrupt scheme to steer business the preferred supplier’s way. Concerns about Cruz are not new. There has been a growing backlash from frustrated residents who say they feel forgotten and say the mayor’s personal political ambitions are coming at the expense of the very people she’s supposed to be representing. For example, at a time when residents needed food, water and shelter, Cruz hired extra photographers to follow her around post-storm. “She comes out, goes on television and pats herself on the back,” Simon Menendez, a small business owner in San Juan, told Fox News. “It stopped being about us a long time ago.” A bartender at a popular hotel in Old San Juan told Fox she feels like a political pawn. But complaints from constituents are largely being ignored. Instead, Cruz’s feud with the president over recovery efforts have turned her into a liberal star – and it’s a role she seems to be relishing. Her global close-up has morphed into a parade of self-promotion. She’s showed up on numerous television shows – including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – and scored a high-profile invite to the State of the Union as the guest of New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. She was also featured on Time magazine as one of the most influential people of 2018. Last month, she traveled to Connecticut to receive the “Latina Champion” award at the Latinas & Power Symposium, which promotes Hispanic professional women. She then went on to Boston to receive an honorary doctorate and give the baccalaureate address at Boston University. Back home in Puerto Rico, officials say the island remains in desperate need of help and is woefully unprepared should another storm hit soon. Among other things, there is little to no water or diesel fuel for generators. This year’s hurricane season started June 1. A new Harvard University study published in the New England Journal of Medicine estimates the number of people who died in Puerto Rico as the result of Maria could top 4,600. The official number issued by the U.S. territory is 64. Multiple attempts to reach Cruz were unsuccessful. FBI spokesman Carlos Osorio told Fox News that “FBI San Juan neither confirms nor denies the existence of investigations.”<doc-sep>
FBI agents this week raided the municipal offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico – rooting through documents and seizing digital records as part of a widespread investigation into fraud and obstruction of justice charges tied to the city government. San Juan’s purchasing division was the target of the raid. And while FBI special agent Douglas Leff did not implicate Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz in the raid, he did tell local media that “we are going to follow the investigation where it leads us.” Cruz tweeted Tuesday that she has instructed city officials to cooperate with federal authorities and said, “If someone has done something wrong, they should undergo due process and face the consequences of their actions.” On Tuesday, more than two dozen agents entered the city’s Municipal Tower carrying briefcases, cameras and electronic equipment, Puerto Rican news agency El Nuevo Dia first reported. Federal agents raided the third, fourth, 14th and 15th floors of the building, looking for documents related to corruption inside San Juan’s purchasing and contracting departments. The raid was sparked by an anonymous tip called into the comptroller’s office over how the mayor’s office awards government contracts – specifically, a $4.7 million deal with construction company BR Solutions. El Nuevo Dia claims the company is owned by a businessman who has made questionable political donations to several Puerto Rican politicians. The raid comes a month after President Trump hinted at corruption in the U.S. territory and caused an uproar after questioning the number of people who died as a result of Hurricane Maria. The bad blood between the two leaders often plays out on social media. Trump has called out Cruz’s management style while Cruz has hammered Trump on his response after Maria. Earlier this year, local news outlets reported Cruz’s administration was being investigated for allegedly obstructing critical supplies from reaching victims of Hurricane Maria- a category-4 storm that leveled much of the tiny U.S. territory more than a year ago. The FBI reportedly launched the investigation following a February lawsuit filed by Yadira Molina, the former director of procurement. Molina claims she was retaliated against for reporting “alleged irregular acts” to the local comptroller. The report says Molina claims she was punished for reporting on the allegedly rigged system and that she was blocked from her right “to report wrongdoing in her capacity as a private citizen, not as a public employee.” Shortly after Cruz became mayor, Molina claims a supply company was granted “preferred supplier” status which paid them more than three times what regular suppliers made. She also alleges that other city officials engaged in a corrupt scheme to steer business the preferred supplier’s way. Concerns about Cruz are not new. There has been a growing backlash from frustrated residents who say they feel forgotten and charge the mayor’s personal political ambitions are coming at the expense of the very people she’s supposed to be representing. “On February 21, Molina sued the city council after reporting alleged acts of corruption in the shopping division in the town hall under the administration of Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz Soto,” according to El Vocero de Puerto Rico. Multiple calls to the Department of Justice’s San Juan field office were not returned.