The Boca Chica Garden project, once marketed as a luxurious beachfront residential complex tailored for Dominicans living abroad, has been unmasked as an alleged large-scale fraud. Over a hundred investors, many of whom are retirees from the Dominican diaspora, now face devastating financial losses and shattered dreams. An investigative report by *El Informe con Alicia Ortega* revealed that the promised modern apartments and amenities remain non-existent, with the development site still an untouched, abandoned lot.
Victims of the scheme shared harrowing accounts of their losses. Otoniel Pichardo, who invested $80,000 in four units, discovered the land flooded and devoid of any construction. Francia Romero and Gabriel Rodríguez, a Puerto Rican truck driver, also lost tens of thousands of dollars after being lured by glossy promotional materials and false promises of oceanfront living.
Attorney Miguel Serum, representing more than 100 affected investors, has filed a criminal complaint against developers Edgar and Mabel Hernández, accusing them of aggravated fraud and money laundering. Serum described the project as ‘a well-structured deception disguised as paradise.’ Apartments were sold for $54,000 to $80,000 each, accompanied by elaborate promises of luxury facilities. The developers’ lawyer, Frankelis Peña, has denied any wrongdoing, attributing delays to permitting issues—a claim victims argue fails to justify the total absence of construction.