Paper trail: US$100M fraud links Canadian brothers: Listin

Santo Domingo.- Pregnant women laid off, millions in arrears to Social Security affecting hundreds of people and unpaid back wages after its business were shuttered are some of the violations detected by the Labor Ministry, in betting parlors and casinos of the Dream Corp., are among a few of the woes which left a paper trail, listin.com.do reports.

In one of the Labor Ministry reports dated December 3, 2014, it cites a revealing conversation with Fidel Garcia, who said he’s as HR manager of Dream Casinos. "What’s happening with the company is difficult due to conflicts between partners which has resulted in the freezing of accounts therefore has affected its operation. Inversiones Valona, the company’s name, handles the Social Security of the seven casinos at the general level so our commitment was affected and now presents a debt of millions. This topic is handled by an external office. "

The debt to Social Security, the report says, surpassed RD$50 million in early December 2014, was 14 months overdue and affected at least 237 workers that the company Dream Casino and / or Inversiones Valona, the company reported at the time of inspection. Another report by labor inspectors estimated the employees at 560 of the company Dream Sport, located in the Julieta sector.

Fraud abroad

The Dream Corp. is at the center of an alleged international fraud exceeding US$100 million with the possible involvement of criminal networks, linked to the brothers Francesco and Antonio Carbone, the latter arrested on Sunday while trying to leave the country and sent Wednesday to one year pretrial detention charged with attempted murder of the lawyer Fernando Guerrero Baez.

The scandal also involves Canadian billionaire Michael DeGroote, Dream’s only investor, and Andrew Pajak, who was his representative in the company, now accused along with Carbone, of fraud in Ontario, Canada.

Canadian media Globe and Mail and CBC report that the corporation came to the country to operate 1,200, betting parlors, whereas the website of the Dominican Finance Ministry’s Casinos and Gaming Dept., manages, under Andrew Michael Pajak, 11 casinos in six provinces.