SAN PEDRO, Ambergris Caye, Mon. Dec. 18, 2017– Last Tuesday, the Government of Belize (GoB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with International Airport Alliance Belize Limited to construct the Efrain Guerrero International Airport on Northern San Pedro, Ambergris Caye.
The total cost of this project, according to a statement issued by the Government Press Office, is USD$100 million.
The MOU was signed on behalf of GoB by Erwin Contreras, Minister of Economic Development, Petroleum, Investment, Trade and Commerce, while Jorge Abraham Jaen signed on behalf of International Airport Alliance Belize Limited.
Amandala has not been able to trace the origins of International Airport Alliance Belize Limited, however we have been able to scoop up background information on Jorge Jaen from the Miami Dade County Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
In 2006, Jaen was named in a memorandum titled, “OIG Investigation into Theft of Court System Funds, Uncovers another Fraud” which was published on October 26, 2006 by the Office of the Inspector General.
The memo revealed that several trained attorneys manipulated the court system in mortgage fraud schemes that victimized South Florida homeowners. Those attorneys were convicted as a result of an investigation dubbed, “Operation Foreclosure Vultures.”
“Jaen’s name surfaced during the investigation and upon further inquiry OIG Special Agents discovered that Jaen had submitted false information on a car loan application,” said the memo.
He lied about his employment and salary and further lied about home ownership to obtain a car loan. He pretended that he owned a home which was actually mortgaged by his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa Ortega. Subsequently, he had been arrested for one count of “Grand Theft” in the Second Degree, and one count of “Obtaining Property or Credit through False Statements.”
Information from the Office of the Inspector General website revealed that this was not the first time Jaen was involved in dishonest activities. In 1999, he was convicted for voter fraud. He falsely changed his name and address to vote in an election to re-elect City of Miami Commissioner Humberto Hernandez, who too was later sentenced to prison for four years by the Feds after confessing to offences related to election fraud.
On November 4, 1998, the New York Times reported that Jaen was convicted for “Conspiracy to Commit Extortion” after he was one of three men who collected cash from a bar owner in exchange for lax police enforcement and favorable treatment by the New York City zoning board.
Today, Amandala contacted Minister of Tourism, Manuel Heredia Jr., who claimed that there must be a mistake in the international media. Heredia Jr., claimed that Jaen was not the director of the company, that he was merely a financier. He then directed us to Minister Tracy Panton, who serves on the Cabinet’s Sub-Committee for Investments.
In our telephone interview with her, she too claimed that the charges against Jaen were not true. She noted that potential investors are vetted by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and the Special Investigation Branch of the Central Bank of Belize. In the case of Jaen, he was vetted by the FIU which, according to Panton, revealed that he had not been convicted or charged with any offence.
When we asked Panton if she had seen the report from the Office of the Inspector General of Miami-Dade County, she told us she hadn’t.