Nereida Meléndez-Rivera 

Ms. Meléndez-Rivera's areas of practice include litigation and investigation in the following areas: financial fraud crimes, money laundering, public corruption, health care fraud, ERISA embezzlement schemes, fraudulent investment schemes, federal programs fraud, union dues embezzlement schemes, intellectual property crimes, mail and wire fraud, child pornography, illegal immigration, bankruptcy fraud, environmental crimes, torts, products liability, and civil RICO claims.

Ms. Meléndez-Rivera was the Deputy Chief of the White Collar Crime Unit for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico. During her tenure she investigated and supervised complex white collar crime cases and violent crime cases.

Her experience includes litigation and investigation in the areas of financial fraud crimes, money laundering, public corruption, health care fraud, ERISA embezzlement schemes, fraudulent investment schemes, civil RICO claims, embezzlement schemes, intellectual property crimes, child pornography, environmental crimes, torts, and product liability amongst others.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, Ms. Meléndez-Rivera was a Litigation Partner at McConnell Valdes, where she began her career in 1986.

Some of Ms Meléndez-Rivera's representative cases include:

• U.S. v. Hector Rene Lugo, et. al: a multimillion dollar health care fraud and money laundering prosecution against eleven members of the Board of Directors of the largest government employee union in Puerto Rico, with over 4,000 members. All defendants were convicted of all charges.
• U.S. v. Alvin Aguirre: a mail and wire fraud prosecution against the owner and president of a private company which provides financing to governmental agencies. The scheme involved the sale of over $20 million in false exempted financing contracts to private investors in the U.S.
• U.S. v. Guido Barletta, et. al.: a bank fraud prosecution against five defendants who defrauded a local bank of millions of dollars through an insurance premiums finance scheme. All five defendants were successfully prosecuted.
• U.S. v. Miguel Rivera: a public corruption and money laundering prosecution against the former director of the juvenile corrections institution. The defendant was successfully prosecuted.
• U.S. v. Fernandez Camuñas: prosecuted the director and the accountant of a private entity that received federal funds for AIDS treatment for embezzlement of federal funds destined for aid victims. The defendants were successfully prosecuted.
• U.S. v. Jorge Aponte: Investigation and indictment of 13 defendants, including 3 corporations, for embezzling ERISA and union dues funds, and laundering millions of dollars of embezzled funds.
• Luis Bonilla et. al. v. Volvo Car Corporation, et. al: litigated a RICO class action in federal court based on the predicate acts of mail and wire fraud.