State Run Electric Companies (CDEEE) vice president Radhames Segura has admitted that there was corruption during Marcos Lara Lorenzo's six-month tenure as director of the Blackout Reduction Program (PRA). Speaking at a press conference, Segura said that an audit revealed that of the RD$894,248 designated for use on repairs to the PRA offices in Herrera and Lincoln Avenue, Lara took RD$300,000 to build himself an office on 27 de Febrero Avenue. The audit also revealed that 18 members of his church, "Los Escogidos de Dios," ("God's Chosen Ones") and 18 family members received monthly checks. Segura announced that Lara and the other PRA officials involved would not be charged with corruption and that the information would only be sent to the Department for the Prevention of Administrative Corruption (DPCA). In the past, several other PRA officials have been suspended in the wake of similar allegations.
The scandal was originally broken by investigative journalist Nuria Piera on her TV show. After resigning as PRA director, Lara said he had employed family members and paid them excessive salaries, in some cases RD$120,000 per month, but denies ever having used PRA funds to build his office.