Nereida Meléndez-Rivera
E-mail address: nm@mcvpr.com
Phone number: (787) 250-2618
Fax number: (787) 474-9230
Nereida Meléndez-Rivera is a Special Counsel in the Litigation Practice Group and Co-Chair of the Government Enforcement and White Collar Defense Practice Area.
Ms. Meléndez-Rivera was the Deputy Chief of the White Collar Crime Unit for the United States 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 United States Attorney's Office, Ms. Meléndez-Rivera was a Litigation Partner at McConnell Valdés, where she began her career in 1986.
Practice Areas
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.
Education
Ms. Melendez-Rivera received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1985.
Admissions
She is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.
Representative Cases
•· United States 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.
•· United States 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 United States.
•· United States 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.
•· United States v. Miguel Rivera: a public corruption and money laundering prosecution against the former director of the juvenile corrections institution. The defendant was successfully prosecuted.
•· United States 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.
•· United States 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.
