While serving as Executive Director of the Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction, and Resilience (COR3), Eduardo Soria Rivera appeared in court as an expert witness on behalf of private clients, despite lacking proper authorization from the Office of Government Ethics (OEG, in Spanish).

In one case file, a sworn affidavit from early February shows that Soria Rivera claimed to have a waiver from the OEG that allowed him to serve as an expert witness. But that was false. Documents reviewed by the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) and statements from OEG officials confirm that no such waiver had been issued at the time.

Soria Rivera, a certified public accountant and attorney, also failed to disclose to the OEG his ownership of the financial consulting firm Ecoval, which holds 21 contracts with 14 public agencies totaling nearly $5 million. Several of those contracts involve projects funded with federal disaster recovery funds administered by COR3 — the very agency he now leads.

Soria Rivera Provided False information to the Court

In a February 6 affidavit submitted in a court case in Aibonito, Soria Rivera wrote: “Despite not having received an official communication certifying the waiver, I am already benefiting from it, as today I appeared to testify as an expert in the Fajardo Court.”

But according to OEG records, he had only requested the waiver three days earlier, and no decision had been issued by that date. The OEG did not officially communicate with Soria Rivera until February 11, five days after the court appearance.

OEG Deputy Director Jennifer Rodríguez Ayala confirmed to CPI that the agency’s only written communication regarding Soria Rivera’s request was sent March 14, more than a month after the affidavit was filed.

Governor Jenniffer González had authorized Soria Rivera to appear as an expert in eight specific cases, according to documentation filed as part of the OEG request. But under Puerto Rico’s Government Ethics Act, only the OEG can issue such authorizations for Executive Branch officials.

In his March 14 letter, OEG Executive Director Luis Pérez Vargas told Soria Rivera that, as a full-time public servant, he was prohibited from representing private clients in any judicial, agency, or quasi-judicial proceedings during working hours. The letter instructed him to seek removal from any pending cases and stated that he could only continue in cases where a judge explicitly denied such a request.

“You may not appear as an expert or legal representative in any other private case while serving as a public servant,” Pérez Vargas added. “Any time spent on such matters must be deducted from your salary and cannot be charged to leave.”

When CPI asked him why he testified under oath that he had received a waiver despite not having the OEG’s approval, Soria Rivera responded in a written statement that the information is “incorrect.”

“I did not declare under oath that I had received a formal response from the OEG. I stated that I submitted a request for authorization to appear as an expert in a court proceeding,” he said. But he did not address the affidavit in which he swore that he was already “enjoying” the waiver.

Soria Rivera declined to be interviewed for this story. He responded only to written questions and refused to speak with CPI reporters even when approached at a public event hosted by the Puerto Rico Society of CPAs.

The Governor gave her blessings

Soria Rivera submitted his waiver request to the OEG on February 3, the same day he sought and received permission from Governor González to appear in the eight court cases. He argued that the proceedings were too far along for him to withdraw without harming his clients.

The Governor approved the request with the condition that “no public funds be compromised by such appearances,” according to a document reviewed by the CPI. Itza M. García Rodríguez, deputy secretary of the Governor’s Office, endorsed the decision.

In a written statement to the CPI, Soria Rivera said that after his appointment, he began reviewing his client list and formally resigned from dozens of pending cases over the course of three weeks. However, he claimed that several cases were so far along that withdrawal would have caused harm to the clients.

He said he provided expert services in areas such as internal audits, business and asset valuation, financial restructurings, bankruptcy, and fraud investigations.

Three of his current clients include private businesses and the Municipality of San Juan. He told the CPI that he had testified in only one case.

“In three of the cases, the court ruled that my appearance was necessary. Two are pending judicial determination, and the other two were resolved by settlement,” he said.

In three cases, opposing attorneys filed motions to disqualify him as an expert witness, citing conflicts with his duties as COR3 director. 

Undisclosed Business Ties

On January 29, days after his appointment, Soria Rivera said that he recused himself from any COR3 procedures involving his firm, Ecoval, by filing a conflict notice with the Public-Private Partnerships Authority (AAPP, in Spanish), to which COR3 is attached. But he did not file a similar notice with the OEG.

Ecoval was originally incorporated as Soria LLC 11 years ago. Despite claiming to have resigned from the firm on January 13, corporate records show Soria Rivera officially stepped down from all positions on February 4. He named Carlos Iglesias Colón as the resident agent and administrator.

Soria Rivera told the CPI that he had transferred ownership of the company via a power of attorney and a blind trust. He said it had been sold to Julio Francisco Torres Abreu and Carlos Iglesias Colón but did not provide a date or name of the attorney who handled the sale.

As of April 2025, corporate records still listed Torres Abreu as Ecoval’s director, alongside José Marrero Rosado, a former budget director under Governor Ricardo Rosselló. Both are donors to the New Progressive Party (PNP, in Spanish), along with Iglesias Colón, who contributed $7,200 to the party and several of its candidates in 2024.

Torres Abreu gave $12,366 to PNP candidates in 2023 and 2024. Marrero Rosado donated $19,225 between 2022 and 2024, and Soria Rivera himself contributed $34,650 over the past two years. In 2020, Iglesias Colón and Soria Rivera gave a combined $4,000 to Jenniffer González’s congressional campaign.

At the time of Soria Rivera’s appointment to lead COR3, Ecoval held $3.8 million in contracts with 13 public agencies. Since 2020, the company has obtained nearly $30 million in government contracts, compared to $3 million secured under its former name, Soria LLC, from 2014 to 2020.

In 2023, the company responded to a COR3 request for proposals to provide professional services for the closeout of recovery projects. An internal integrity review flagged potential conflicts of interest in 30 Ecoval contracts. In many of these, Ecoval was supporting agencies manage federal fund reimbursements submitted to COR3 — meaning the firm was overseeing projects that it also submitted for approval.

Soria Rivera also owns a real estate firm, B-Value Consulting, Inc., and Government Talent Solutions, LLC, which he said is currently inactive. He did not clarify whether these companies were included in the conflict disclosure filed with the AAPP.

“To avoid any perception of impropriety, I have recused myself from any matter related to Ecoval LLC while serving as executive director of COR3 and for the duration required after leaving public office,” he told the CPI.

This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and thoroughly reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.