Joely Rodríguez-Villega, 28, has been charged with allegedly lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to reports, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an formal charge on April 30, 2026, charging her with providing false representations to the probing agency. She made an initial appearance on Friday, May 8, 2026, and, if convicted, she will face a maximum of five years’ prison time.
According to a press note released by the Puerto Rico Attorney General’s office, the court documents in the matter suggest that Joely Rodríguez-Villega “willfully and knowingly made materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent representations and representations” in a matter handled by the United States Government’s executive branch, violating federal law under Title 18, USC, Section 1001 of the U.S. code.
Woman Indicted and Arrested for Lying to the FBI.https://t.co/RMcSh00XZr
— U.S. Attorney PR (@USAO_PR) May 8, 2026
She has been also accused of misleading FBI agents about her whereabouts on the evening of March 29, 2024. The press note adds that Villega made her initial court appearance on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mariana Bauzá of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Additionally, if found guilty, the 28-year-old could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A federal district court will make the final decision after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors required under federal law. U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico and Carlos Goris, special agent in charge of the FBI, made an official announcement.
Meanwhile, the FBI and the Puerto Rico Police Department have been probing the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Díaz-González and Joseph Russell, who are part of the Gang Section, are leading the prosecution in the prosecution. The Gang section usually executes violent dr*g trafficking plots, firearms violations, and large-scale gang operations.
On March 31, 2026, it was reported that a federal grand jury indicted 52 alleged gang members on March 17, 2026. The suspects were from San Juan, Morovis, and Cataño and faced charges linked to dr*g trafficking and firearms offenses, according to U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau’s San Juan Strike Force led the investigation. Several federal agencies additionally helped, including the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Border Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Authorities additionally received support during the arrests from the Puerto Rico National Guard and local police departments in Guaynabo, Bayamón, and San Juan. “Thanks to the great investigative work of our law enforcement partners and prosecutors, the important leaders, enforcers, and other members of the violent gang are being taken off our streets,” Muldrow said, adding, “These arrests reflect our steadfast determination to remove violent gangs from our communities.”
The prosecution was part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, created under Executive Order 14159, aimed at safeguarding Americans against invasion.
