Prosecutor's Office targets Óscar Andrade for massive fraud in Sunca

As of January 2026, the case of the mega fraud and embezzlement of funds in the National Single Construction and Annexes Union (SUNCA), specifically within the Social Housing Fund (Fosvoc), has progressed with multiple criminal convictions and the expulsion of several individuals involved, all from the Communist Party.

Key points of the investigation

The mega fraud of 1,200,000 dollars was carried out through the request of loans in the name of fictitious people, or non-existent members. 193 irregular transfers made by administrative staff were also detected.

Main criminal convictions

In June 2025, three former Sunca union members (Santiago Bernaola, Bruno Bertolio, and Víctor Rivero) were convicted of fraud, embezzlement, and criminal conspiracy, with prison sentences of up to two years and three months. The three, in addition to being union members, were activists in the Communist Party.

In November 2025, the fund's former secretary, Stella Rey, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison after admitting her responsibility in the embezzlement.

Rey was Óscar Andrade's right-hand woman in Sunca when he led the union.

In December 2025, four other people were sentenced for their participation in the network.

Audits revealed that the stolen funds were spent on personal items such as household appliances, cell phones, pet food, and even a pickup truck.

Links to Andrade

During the criminal proceedings, the individuals under investigation indicated that part of the stolen money was used to finance activities of the Communist Party (list 1001).

The union members indicated that the money was used to finance the party's 2024 national election campaigns and the 2025 departmental election campaigns.

They also specifically pointed to Communist senator Óscar Andrade as the ringleader of the schemes.

Andrade was for many years the main boss of Sunca, and in that union nothing was decided without his authorization.

The prosecutor in the case, Gilberto Rodríguez, indicated that both Andrade and the Communist representative and former Sunca union member, Daniel Diverio, could be summoned to the prosecutor's office over the mega fraud.

This individual is the same one who went at least ten years without paying taxes on his chalet in the San Luis resort, Canelones. He built his residence "off the books," that is, without paying the corresponding contributions to BPS.