The identity of “Jhoby Weaks,” one of the three signatories to the temporary power contract that would involve $5 billion in public funds from the Puerto Rico government, is linked to crypto entrepreneur Jobadiah “Joby” Sinclair Weeks, 46, who was charged in 2019 along with four other people in a $770 million fraud scheme and with tax evasion. The case is still awaiting sentencing in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.
The signature of “Jhoby Weaks” appears on the contract on behalf of Enchanted Rock, which formed a consortium with Power Expectations and Reyes Contractor Group to provide temporary power to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). Despite the one-letter discrepancy in the surname, Jhoby Weaks and Jobadiah “Joby” Sinclair Weeks are the same person because the U.S. Department of Justice itself identifies the defendant as Jobadiah (“Joby”) Sinclair Weeks.
According to the public docket in his federal case, Weeks has been under home confinement at an undisclosed location since pleading guilty to the charges before Judge Clair C. Cecchi in November 2020. A virtual conference in his case was scheduled for May but was canceled. Weeks’ attorney, Ernesto Cerimele, did not respond to a request for an interview for this story sent Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Two sources confirmed to Bonita Radio that Weeks is the person who represented E-Rock, or Enchanted Rock, beginning in 2025 as director of its sales office for the Caribbean region.
The temporary power contract was managed by Regulatory Compliance Services (ReComS), headed by Osvaldo Carlo Linares, which operates the Independent Procurement Office, known as 3PPO. Created by the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority (P3A), the office conducts auctions and bidding processes for energy contracts. P3A contracted with ReComS for $300,000 over the past two years to perform this role.
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Although the $5 billion contract lists Weeks as living in Texas, the crypto entrepreneur, who boasts on his website that he has been a millionaire since age 22 and is originally from Colorado, appears to be under home confinement at a location where he can see the ocean from his living room, judging from an interview with him.
Energy czar Josué Colón, head of the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority, which hired 3PPO, the entity that managed the multibillion-dollar temporary power transaction, was unavailable to answer questions.
In an interview with El Nuevo Día, Carlo Linares said only that Weeks was in Colorado and that people from his office had contacted him virtually beginning in 2025 during negotiations with the companies that signed the agreement.
A letter dated Friday, Aug. 8 and sent by Carlo Linares to the energy czar states that his office reviewed Power Expectations documents dating back to March 2025, including one “through which Enchanted Rock LLC designated Power [Expectations] as its exclusive agent in Puerto Rico and Florida,” which, according to Carlo Linares, justifies the “Jhoby Weaks” signature on the contract.
The letter also states that there is a June 1, 2025, agreement between Power Expectations and Weeks, who is identified as the signatory, “through which he was given the title of ‘Chief Operating Officer’ for Caribbean operations.”
The 3PPO is preparing a case to present to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Puerto Rico, currently headed on an acting basis by Héctor Ramírez Carbó. Former federal prosecutor Carlo Linares indicated as much in his letter to Colón, which details the steps his office took regarding irregularities involving the “Jhoby Weaks” signature that the program Los Datos son los Datos uncovered Friday.
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Another irregularity involving the contract signatures concerns the president of Reyes Contractor Group Inc., whose signature reads “Dennys Reyes” but whose name is written in the contract as “Denis Reyes.” His name is Dennys R. Reyes Vega, according to the corporate registry for the company he heads. Reyes Contractor Group was cited for irregularities in a University of Puerto Rico at Humacao audit involving roof waterproofing contracts it held there, as CPI previously reported. Reyes hung up when contacted for an interview.
The third signatory to the contract was Eddie Echevarría of Power Expectations, a company that, according to Florida Politics, lacked the experience, track record or capital for large-scale energy projects. Mary Carmen Zapata signed the contract on behalf of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. She was unavailable to answer questions.
Asked who was responsible for conducting background checks on those seeking to contract with the government, Carlo said: “We did the clearance work on the corporation; we didn’t have to do clearance on everyone who works for the corporation.”
Weeks pleaded guilty on Nov. 8, 2020, to one count of conspiracy to offer and sell unregistered securities and another count of tax evasion for the years 2015 through 2018. At the time, the U.S. Department of Justice identified him as a resident of Arvada, Colorado. His LinkedIn profile identifies him as a Denver native.
After he pleaded guilty, the sentencing hearing originally scheduled for March 14, 2021, was postponed at least four times and currently has no scheduled date, according to the public docket in the case against Weeks, No. 19-cr-0877, in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.
The most recent development in the case came July 27, when Judge Cecchi said the sentencing date would be announced later.
The lead defendant in that case, Matthew Goettsche, had been accused of defrauding investors of $722 million. Judge Cecchi last Tuesday granted prosecutors’ request to dismiss the charges against Goettsche.
Authorities alleged in December 2020 that Goettsche created and ran a sophisticated cryptocurrency mining operation, BitClub Network, that rewarded investors for recruiting new members, and that he described its business model as something built “on the backs of idiots.”
Prosecutors were preparing to take him to trial in October, but Goettsche’s attorneys told the judge July 8 that they had reached an agreement to dismiss the case with prejudice.
Presidential Protection?
In July, Bloomberg reported that Todd Blanche, now the U.S. attorney general, was questioned in writing by two Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Senate confirmation process about contacts that Goettsche, Weeks’ co-defendant, had with attorneys close to President Donald Trump who allegedly had secured the resolution of the case.
“What message does it send to crime victims when criminals have a literal ‘get out of jail free’ card if they know the right people?” asked Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat and the ranking member of the committee.
“I respectfully reject the premise of this question, which is based on faulty and biased news reporting,” Blanche wrote in his response.
“The resolution of this matter was not the result of any alleged pressure by the defendant’s attorneys. It reflected the Department’s routine evaluation of pending cases, and the government is in the process of recovering a substantial amount owed to investors,” the head of the U.S. Justice Department responded.
In Puerto Rico, it has been alleged that the resolution of former Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced’s case, involving a misdemeanor charge that she accepted a promised contribution from a non-U.S. citizen, came about precisely through contacts made by attorney Christopher Kise, who represented co-defendant Julio Herrera Vellutini. Kise served as Florida’s solicitor general when Pamela Bondi was the state’s attorney general.
In a similar action, Trump also pardoned Act 22/60 beneficiary Terren Scott Peizer, who had been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison and was accused in California of fraud and insider trading in connection with the sale of shares in Ontrak.
This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.
