“We’re pleased that our investigation and civil enforcement action has led to criminal charges against Mr. Santos.”
SAN FRANCISCO (May 12, 2020) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera released the following statement today after federal criminal charges were unsealed against former Building Inspection Commission President Rodrigo Santos for bank fraud:
“We’re pleased that our investigation and civil enforcement action has led to criminal charges against Mr. Santos. Our office works tirelessly to make sure that those who abuse the law are held to account — no matter their position. Our case against Mr. Santos exposed both how he undermined public safety and how he defrauded his own clients. Our team developed a detailed case against Mr. Santos, and I’m glad the U.S. Attorney’s Office used that information to help build their criminal case. I applaud the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for taking criminal action against him, and I especially want to thank the investigators and attorneys in our office for their meticulous investigation into Mr. Santos’ wrongdoing.”
Case Background
The criminal case against Santos arose out of a civil enforcement action by Herrera, who uncovered the scheme and alleged in an amended civil lawsuit unsealed in March 2020 that Santos was engaging in check fraud. The civil case also alleges that Santos and his associates engaged in permit fraud regarding at least nine different properties in San Francisco.
The civil case is: City and County of San Francisco et al. v. Santos & Urrutia Associates Inc. et al., San Francisco Superior Court case number CGC-18-569923, filed Sept. 20, 2018. Additional information about from the case is available on the City Attorney’s website at: sfcityattorney.org.