NEWS & EVENTS

NEW CORPORATE OFFICE TO OPEN SOON
IBSI-HQ MOVED TO VOLUSIA COUNTY
04 June 2010   17:49 EST

It took longer than expected, but finally IBSI Headquarters will soon begin operations from it's new home in Volusia County, Florida. The information was provided to Eagle Eyes News by IBSI President and Founder, Mr. David Gonzalez. "IBSI has achieved so much in the two years it has been operating, thanks to the great work performed by our members.  However, with the moving to Central Florida there will be some major changes in the organization which will affect all IBSI missions worldwide." Said president Gonzalez.

President Gonzalez said that some of the changes include new recruiting requirements, and the establishment of local IBSI posts in Orange, Seminole, Lake, Volusia and Osceola counties. "We intend to recruit enough volunteers to set up a minimum of two IBSI teams in each county in an effort to provide broader support to local authorities in their fight against crime.  Most people know that we have an international mission, but what they don't know is that we also have a local, regional and national mission to help criminal justice agencies."

Vice President, Francisca "Angie" Mendez, is expected to travel from Dominican Republic to Central Florida for two weeks starting in mid July to help in the selection of the new IBSI HQ staff, and local IBSI teams. President Gonzalez did not comment if 2nd Vice President, Mrs. Nnenna Eke will be traveling to Florida from Nigeria to meet the newly formed IBSI teams.

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IBSI STILL LOOKING FOR ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE KNOWN MAN
DEPORTED AND CLAIMING TO BE AMERICAN CITIZEN
21 May 2010, IBSI-DO

If you think you know the man of the picture below, or know anyone related to him, contact IBSI-HQ in Florida via e-mail at: hq@ibsi-1.org. Tell us as much as you can remember, no matter your country of residence. This is a humanitarian case, not a criminal investigation.

Click to Enlarge
On December 2002, Eduardo was arrested by agents of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Houston, Texas.  In less than 10 days an INS magistrate, issued a deportation order against Eduardo for allegedly being in the United States illegally. In June 2003, Eduardo was finally forced to a flight bound for the Dominican Republic. But there was a tiny detail that immigration agents knew and chose to ignore: Eduardo was not a citizen or national of the Dominican Republic. 

Upon arrival to the country, Eduardo's case was the subject of an intense investigation conducted by different agencies: the DR National Police, DR Immigration, and the National Investigations Directorate, along with IFASC and IBSI-DO. Nothing was found about Eduardo or about his parents anywhere in the Dominican Republic. "There is no doubt that Eduardo is not a Dominican citizen nor a national." Said David Gonzalez, president of IBSI.

Where is Eduardo from? That's a very good question. Eduardo claims to be an American by his own birth, and by the birth of both parents. IBSI has obtained circumstantial evidence which not only indicates that Eduardo may be an American citizen, but also suggests that INS agents knew Eduardo was not Dominican, that they [the INS agents] also provided false information to a federal magistrate, and denied Eduardo the right of seeking legal counsel.

Eduardo told IBSI Special Investigators that before Texas, he lived in Sacramento, Oakland, and in other cities in northern California. "He told us that he has a half sister name Janet who may still be living in Sacramento or its vicinity, with whom he broke contact in 1987. IBSI has been trying to locate Janet, so she can tell us more about Eduardo. Regardless of Eduardo's past, he deserves to be in the correct country, whether that correct country is the USA or any other country."  said Mr. Gonzalez.

President Gonzalez said that Eduardo strongly believes he was born in the city of Caguas (Puerto Rico), because that's where he lived until his mother's death. when he was about 8 years old. Then, his sister's aunt traveled from California to Puerto Rico to take custody of her, but after learning that Eduardo had nobody to take care of him, his sister's aunt took him along to California, via New York. We have not been able to find any death records about Eduardo's mother in Puerto Rico and he said that his father died, only because his mother told him so when he was a child.

"A young lady representing the Government of Puerto Rico offered to help search for Eduardo's birth records in 2006. But upon learning of Eduardo's last name, she quickly jumped to say he was Mexican. She asked to speak to him, and upon hearing his accent, she said that he speaks like a Mexican. I told her that Eduardo's accent was not Mexican but Californian. They are very similar, but not quite the same. The young lady later became mean to us and that's why we doubt she did any searches for birth and death records in Puerto Rico. Just because someone has what seems to be a Mexican accent doesn't necessarily means that the person is Mexican", said President Gonzalez.

Gonzalez added, "I told the young lady that I'm an American and I have a very strong Dominican accent, but that I am not Dominican. All I need is two or three months in another country and their accent will stick to me like superglue. Besides, when you are investigating any case, you have to keep an open mind. I do not say that Eduardo is an American, even though the evidence is pointing that way. How can that lady claim that Eduardo is Mexican just because of his last name and accent? I can present her with some Puerto Ricans serving in the US Armed Forces, stationed in California for several years, who not only have the same last name as Eduardo, but they also have now a Californian accent."

"We need Janet, and anyone else who may have known Eduardo, to come forward and tell us what they know about him. We need information about his life prior to 1989. We invite state Vital Records directors not only in the USA but of all countries - from Mexico to Argentina - to contact us for Eduardo's biographic information, so they can check if they have any records of anyone matching Eduardo's information, and send that to us". Concluded Gonzalez.

DO YOU KNOW THE MAN IN THE PICTURE? 
If you think you know him, or know his sister Janet, contact IBSI-HQ in Florida via e-mail at: hq@ibsi-1.org. Tell us as much as you can remember, no matter your country of residence.
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DURING DOMINICAN CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
VIOLENCE, DEATHS, AND BUYING OF VOTERS ID CARDS
17 May 2010

Five people were killed and 13 others were injuried in acts of violence registered in different parts of the country during the 2010 Congressional and Municipal elections held yesterday in the Dominican Republic. The elections, in which the officialist , Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) obtained majority in Congress, was once again characterized by the buying of voters id cards known as cedulas and the buying of votes for as little as RD$300 (under $10 USD), and the buying of votes through gifts of home appliances, by members of the PLD, in an effort to ensure that their party could obtain victory.

Incredibly, international observers from the Organization of American States, only detected one incident of buying of votes in the Mao-Valverde province, thought the practice was boldly committed outside most voting centers throughout the entire country. In Montecristi province, the buying of votes was so bold, that the people almost lined up to sell their cedulas.

IBSI president, David Gonzalez, said these elections proved that democracy in the Dominican Republic is agonizing, and that he is very disappointed that many candidates had to turn to such an immoral practice in order win re-election. "Most of them didn't need to do that because they were sure winners. But the people who sold their cedulas and their votes will get what they deserve, when democracy in this country finally dies. 

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US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY REPORTS
MODERATE EARTHQUAKE HITS PUERTO RICO
16 May 2010
A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico early this morning, the United States Geological Survey said. The USGS placed the epicenter of the quake near the city of Moca, in the northwestern end of the main island.

Members of IBSI-PR experienced some troubles to communicate the ocurrence quake to IBSI-HQ. "It was scary. It was so dark outside. Electric power was gone in some places, but not where most of us live, which was quite a relief, for we could search for structural damages to our quarters. But the best part of all, nobody was hurt." Said Rafael Torres, a new IBSI Support Staff member at IBSI Puerto Rico in Arecibo. 

CNN has received so far 282 comments on its website from people who felt the earthquake and from others offering prayers thanking God that nobody was injuried.

IBSI President, David Gonzalez, who's currently in the Dominican Republic, said that all 50 members of IBSI-DO were immediately placed alert to assist IBSI-PR and Puerto Rico authorities, but that after learning that there were no casualties he called off the alert. 

"I believe that the Puerto Rico State Emergency Management Agency and all municipal authorities have responded effectively to the emergency. The people of Puerto Rico knew exactly what to do to prevent becoming victims of the quake, because they have paid attention to earthquake education campaigns conducted by the Federal and State Emergency Management Agencies. We need more countries to conduct similar campaigns to help reduce the number of casualties to a minimum and - hopefully - to zero." Said Mr. Gonzalez.

MORE NEWS FROM PUERTO RICO

Caribbean Business (English)
El Nuevo Dia (Spanish)
El Vocero (Spanish)
Primera Hora (Spanish)

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IBSI TO INCREASE NUMBER OF OPERATIVES
TO FIGHT CRIME IN THE USA AND ABROAD
16 May 2010, by Jenny Morales, IBSI-HQ

IBSI President, David Gonzalez, said that the organization will be conducting a major recruiting campaign througout the United States, to increase the number of trained IBSI Special Investigators in an effort to increase our organization's support to all police agencies in the fight against crime. 

President Gonzalez said, "We are mobilizing some foreign personnel to assist our staff in the United States. Our goal is to have at least three IBSI Field offices established in every State to help local, state and federal authorities with their foreign and domestic crime issues. IBSI has already proven to be an effective support organization, but in order to achieve more, we will need a lot more personnel."

Questioned as to who will be in charge of IBSI's recruiting campaign, President Gonzalez said that IBSI General Secretary, Hector M. Rodriguez, is now in charge of the recruiting of new IBSI Special Investigator candidates for the entire United States, which includes the jurisdictions of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Meanwhile, IBSI Vice President, Francisca A. Mendez and IBSI-NY Mr. Julio Yapur, will concentrate in the recruiting of new candidates for the cities of New York (NY) and Orlando (FL). 

"Some of the best new IBSI Special Investigators may end up being assigned posts as instructors at IBSI Field Offices overseas, or they could be assigned to help establish new IBSI Field Offices at home or overseas. Who will go where, is something the Board of Directors will decide in due time. In the mean time, we must concentrate in helping local, state and federal authorities in reducing crime." Concluded President Gonzalez.

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IBSI DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REPORTS INCREASE
IN NUMBERS OF VIOLENT DEATHS
16 May 2010, by Jenny Morales, IBSI-HQ

Dominicans are preparing to cast their votes in today's Congressional and Municipal elections. Today's election, however, is adding a new perk to the already highly overpaid seats of the DR Congress: a six year term. Most congressional candidates seeking re-election, even though a vast majority, have done a lousy job for the past four years. 

But the problems for the people continue to be the same. Power outages lasting from 4 to 16 hours a day, potable water is scarce in many rural cities and in the capital of the country. Crime has reached an all time high, with drug related killings going as high as in neighboring Puerto Rico. Many firearms incidents, involving domestic violence, continue to take the lives of women.

Two days ago, a bakery owner and two of his employees were murdered in an incident that has been attributed to the Puerto Rican fugitive, Jose FIgueroa, aka "Junior Capsule".  These killings took place in broad daylight, and the killings are still under investigation by the DR National Police.

IBSI President, David Gonzalez, said that yesterday he grabbed a local newspaper and the first thing he saw in the front page was that a low level leader of the officialist (PLD) party was murdered in the city of Castillo, Dominican Republic. Apparently the PLD leader was caught buying electoral cards from opposition (PRD) party members, so they wouldn't be able to vote in today's elections.

"Buying of electoral cards is very serious threat to democracy, and all top level leaders of the many political parties of the Dominican Republic should strongly oppose to continuation of that practice, if they really love their country as much as they claim. Stop corrupting the people, and feeding the drug habits of drug users. Stop playing with the needs of the people of this country, where money is as scarce as the water because of the high taxes, and stop merchants from continuing transfering their taxes to consumers. Search for ways to estimulate the local economy, so tourists can again begin to come to the country. Lower the airport taxes, because it's incredible that airport taxes are often two times higher than the cost of a plane ticket. Otherwise, corruption and crime will be the only resources for the people to turn in order to feed themselves." Said President Gonzalez.

After today's election, President Gonzalez and 4 members of IBSI Board of Directors will meet with IBSI-DO leadership to discuss strategies to fight crime, and present that strategy to the Dominican government.

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AMAZING. SOME CANDIDATES HAVE SAID "NO" TO FRAUD.
by Jenny Morales, IBSI-HQ

The illegal practice of buying electoral/citizen id cards (known as "cedulas") in the Dominican Republic was so common in recent years, that IBSI was expecting the practice to be equally conducted by followers of all candidates for congressional seats. However, much to our surprise, we have noticed quite a few candidates, including some seeking re-election, have forbidden their followers from buying off any cedulas, or engaging in any type of illegal activity.

One congressional candidate for re-election in particular, has been distiguished by IBSI as a honest man. Not knowing that IBSI Special Investigators were present at a meeting he held with the top leaders of his campaign, the candidate for the PRD said, "I don't want anyone buying of cedulas, neither offering of money to vote for me. If I win, it has to be a clean victory. If we lose, then, we lose."

A female PLD congressional candidate, also seeking re-election, rebuked her followers too for suggesting to pay the people about $10 to vote for her. She's another honest candidate, among the very few who are not violating electoral laws. 

But there are other candidates (or the followers of those candidates) who are still buying cedulas of low and mid income people to prevent that they vote for any opposing candidates. There are some supporters of congressional candidates, mostly linked to the officialist party PLD, who have been giving out appliances, cash, and other goods, to those who pledges to vote for them. 

A few days ago, a team of reporters from a TV News cast were fired upon by employees of the National Lotery, caught in the act while unloading a truck full of appliances at a PLD committee building. In previous occasions, trucks property of the National Lotery have been caught on tape giving out appliances and other goods to supporters of PLD candidates.

A day after the shooting of May 10,2010, the General Administrator of the Dominican National Lotery, who's also the husband of a congresswoman seeking re-election, told reporters that his employees opened fire at the TV news crew because "they looked like crooks".

After such a explaination, we cannot help to ask ourselves: Are we to understand that it's the policy of the National Lotery to shoot at anyone just because of how they're dressed or by the person's 'looks"? Then, How come so many crooks continue to rob people in the vicinity of the National Lotery building? 

There is no doubt next Sunday's congressional elections will be very interesting. IBSI congratulates the honest candidates that have not been buying off votes. We know who you are. You are setting an example of great moral value, and we are pleased to see that, because of you, there is still hope that Democracy in the Dominican Republic will succeed.

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TASTELESS CREATIVITY: DECEASED VEILED ON HIS MOTORCYCLE
Another Previously Requested To Be Veiled "Standing Up" At His Funeral

There are people who make unusual requests in the event of their death. While in many countries it is not customary to comply with the unusual requests, in Puerto Rico those requests are honored by funeral homes, even if absurd, funny, or just strange. 

On April 22, 2010, David Morales Colón, a 22 y/o man, died after being shot 19 times while he talked to a 14 year old girl. The girl  resulted wounded with shots to both of her legs.  At a San Juan funeral home, the body of David Morales was veiled "riding" on his Honda Repsol motorcycle. 

Not too long ago, another man was veiled "standing up" at another funeral home in Puerto Rico. Since there are no laws prohibiting such public display of a deceased person's body, the practice of veiling people in positions other than horizontal inside their caskets seem to be gaining popularity, mostly among drug traffickers killed in gang wars. 

Puerto Rico has a very high crime rate, mostly murders related to drug traffic, which has made this beautiful Territory of the USA, almost as dangerous for living as it is Washington, DC.

Freedom of Speach is guaranteed by the US Constitution. But, shouldn't there be laws against these unusual requests?

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WILL U.S. GOV'T FINALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT PUERTO RICO?
01 May 2010

Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands.

Puerto Rico (Spanish for "rich port") is composed of an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands, the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest by land area and second smallest by population among the four Greater Antilles, which also include Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica. Read More.

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BEWARE OF CREDIT REPORTING FRAUD
25 April 2010

Credit Reporting Fraud is not a new modality of crime. This type of CRIME has been taking place for several years and continue to be practiced in detriment of American consumers. Because of how easy it is to "legally" get away with it, IBSI expects the number of victims to rise even more as long as the American economy continues to be in such a terrible shape.

What is Credit Reporting Fraud?
Credit  reporting fraud is committed when an entity willfully submits inaccurate financial information to the credit bureaus about a consumer, with the intention of damaging the consumer's credit worthiness. This is a serious violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq). Though affected consumers may get some degree of justice by disputing the negative information found in their credit reports, or by filing a complaint with the FTC, the fact remains that once the negative information has been posted, the damages suffered by the victims is not limited to getting a credit card or loan application denied, but increased hardships.

A True Life Example (Open Investigation)
For example. Our client "A" had a credit score of 715 with all three credit bureaus. Client "A" decided to apply for a home loan to purchase her first home and take advantage of tax credits of 2009.  One bank in particular, sent her a credit card, which was lost in the mail. She called the bank to report the card missing or stolen in the mail. The bank cancelled the credit card account, but it began to report the card as being paid on time with all three credit bureaus. Concerned that someone may have actually stolen the card and was using it, she called the bank to question why was the card appearing as being paid monthly if the account was closed. The bank told her that they issued her a new card, but the second card was also lost in the mail, and she told the bank to cancel the account and not to send her any more cards.

Four months later, when client "A" was ready to close on the home loan, the bank reported her to the credit bureaus as delinquent for one month in her card payments. She called the bank where the telephone customer service agent said that they [the bank] did not report her negatively before the credit bureaus, but that they bank instead reported the account as closed with "0" balance pending. The many hard inquiries made by mortgage companies to get her preapproved for the home loan caused her credit score to go down to 695. Because of the inaccurate information provided by the bank, her credit score went down to 650.

Client "A" called the bank again to ask them to correct the information they have submitted to the credit bureaus, and again the bank told her that the only information they submitted to the credit bureaus was that the credit card account was closed and that she didn't owe anything. The day after she called the bank, client "A" received an alert from Experian.com where she was being informed that a potentially negative item was reported in her credit report. The issue: the same bank she spoke with the day before once again reported that she failed to pay her credit card payment for a second month. This caused her credit score to go down to 595. The result: Client A no longer qualifies for a home loan.

At the request of client "A", IBSI conducted an investigation to determine whether she really owed any money to the bank or not. As part of our investigation, we asked client A to call the bank, and we listened to the conversation. The curstomer service representative told client A that she didn't owe them any money, that the account was closed at her request, and that the bank didn't file any negative information about her before the credit bureaus. We asked client A to ask the bank to send her a letter certifying those facts about the account, so she could take the letter to the mortgage company. It took over two weeks and four (4) calls to finally get the fax sent. The fax showed different information than what the customer service representative told our client. In the fax, the bank says that client A's account ending in xxxx* is open, with "0" balance pending.

Looking deeper into the case, we noticed that client A has another credit card with the same bank, which she has paid religiously on time for almost three years. Client A doesn't hasn't had any negative items on her credit report for the last 10 years. However, we noticed that the bank has been monitoring client A credit report for several months, after client "A" tried to obtain a credit card from a major bank who offered her better rates, better terms, and free balance transfer.

IBSI has found client A has been a victim of inaccurate credit reporting. Whether the bank acted with malice, that is yet to be determined. Interestingly ,we also found that none of the credit bureaus has done anything to correct the wrongs committed against client "A". Client "A" filed a complaint before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that has not been resolved yet.

Another interesting thing we found is that the same bank has acted wrongly against other customers. In most of those cases, the issues were settled out of court, or through the Better Business Bureau. The problem is that the bank continue to hurt some of its customers, as if FCRA regulations were written over toilet tissue.

IBSI Looking For Other Victims
IBSI created a program intended to help victims of credit reporting inaccuracies. The program seeks to help victims get all inaccurate information to be removed from their credit reports. The program also seek to detect, identify, expose and submit for criminal prosecution, all entities involved in credit reporting fraud. The program seeks to help victims to obtain monetary compensation from those entities engaged in credit reporting fraud. If you are, have been or know a victim of credit reporting fraud, contact IBSI Credit Help Center at credit@ibsi-1.org.

IBSI Looking For Lawyers
Attorneys interested in helping credit reporting fraud victims are invited to submit their contact information to IBSI-HQ. We are creating an Attorney Directory for those victims interested in initating a lawsuit against FCRA violators. Listing in our directory (currently under construction) is free of charge. 

Note: IBSI is also investigating other companies engaged in the practice of submitting inaccurate information to the credit bureaus in detriment of their customers. For more information about the program, go to Our Progams page.

* Account number hidden to protect the identity of client "A".