In the end, Hernandez’s testimony opened a window into Hialeah’s years-long shadow-banking industry, in which both he and Robaina had participated. Hernandez was called as a witness to bolster the prosecution’s case that lenders such as Robaina, Hernandez and others routinely charged Perez 36 percent interest on loans.
“The shadow banking system, by its very nature, is very secretive and doesn’t leave a paper trail,” said Ryan Stumphauzer, a former federal prosecutor in Miami who now heads his own firm. “The prosecution can’t rely on documents as they would in a normal white-collar criminal case involving the traditional banking system.
“The government has no choice but to rely on people who have dealt directly with the secretive system and are willing to go on record to describe it.”
Left unanswered
Like Robaina, Hernandez lost tens of thousands of dollars when he made $180,000 in loans — at 3 percent monthly interest, or 36 percent annually — to convicted Ponzi schemer Luis Felipe Perez between 2007 and 2009. Perez paid him $100,000 in interest, Hernandez told the court.