The financial debt crisis in Puerto Rico has driven the Commonwealth's government to ask for relief from the Federal Government. However, Wall Street greed in combination with some of the island's shady politicians appears to be responsible for running up $11 billion in debt, and is fueling the Puerto Rican independence movement. At the core of the fraud are allegations of a Ponzi-style pyramid scheme involving the island's electrical authority and fuel oil suppliers to pay bondholders with money supplied by new investors. Puerto Rico has asked Congress for bankruptcy protection, which it is unlikely to receive under the current Republican leadership.
The crisis has fueled the Commonwealth's independence movement, the Puerto Rican Independence Party, which has demanded a vote by Congress to allow a referendum on the island's status once and for all. And the fraudsters on Wall Street are right there in the thick of things.
