Peruvian prosecutors have requested nine years in prison for deputy Harvey Colchado for allegedly hiding his police rank to lease property to law enforcement.
The provincial prosecutor, Mayra Paico, formally submitted the indictment to the Judiciary on July 24, 2026, seeking a total effective prison sentence of nine years and four months for the retired colonel on charges of improper negotiation and ideological falsehood.
Colchado, a member of the Chamber of Deputies representing the Ahora Nacion party, has claimed that the prosecution is a political persecution. However, the Attorney General's Office rejected any political motivation, noting that the investigation began in late May 2024 before Colchado's candidacy was known or anticipated.
Prosecution sources clarified that the indictment was submitted before Colchado joined the Ethics Commission of the Chamber of Deputies. Authorities emphasized that the retired officer had full opportunity to exercise his defense and review the specific charges against him throughout the two-year inquiry. The preparatory investigation into officials at the Ministry of the Interior was formally concluded on July 15, 2026.
Under the indictment, Colchado is charged as an accomplice to improper negotiation and as a co-perpetrator of crimes against public faith in the form of ideological falsehood. Two officials from the Ministry of the Interior, Clara Ramirez Benites and Subofficer Victor Elvis Ocmin Vargas, face charges as authors of improper negotiation.
Property lease in Comas district
The criminal case centers on the lease of a residential property located on Avenida Guillermo de la Fuente in the Los Vinedos de Carabayllo area of the Comas district, located in northern Lima. The property serves as the local headquarters for the Criminal Investigation Division of the National Police of Peru, known as DIPINCRI.
The National Police of Peru is the state law enforcement agency responsible for domestic security across the nation. The Comas property had been leased by its owners to the police department since June 2015. However, legal complications arose in June 2021 when the rental agreement came up for renewal.
Following the death of Colchado's father, the officer became a co-owner of the property through an intestate succession. At the time of the contract renewal, Colchado was an active police colonel serving as chief of a unit in the northern Lambayeque region. Under Peruvian law, active public officials are strictly prohibited from entering into commercial contracts with state institutions.
Public deed and notary statements
To manage the estate, the intestate succession granted a special power of attorney to Martina Huamani Ordonez on April 30, 2021, authorizing her to manage, buy, sell, and rent the property before a notary public. When providing his personal identification details for the official public deed submitted to the National Superintendency of Public Registries, known as Sunarp, Colchado declared his occupation as an independent worker.
According to the indictment, Colchado's declaration of independent employment did not align with reality because he held the rank of active colonel in the Lambayeque police macro-region at the time. Prosecutors concluded that this inaccurate declaration enabled him to bypass statutory restrictions and continue leasing the building to the police department. The public deed containing the false occupation data was subsequently used to sign a new lease agreement and eight subsequent contract addenda.
Co-defendants and administrative changes
The prosecution has also charged Clara Ramirez, an assistant in state contracting, and Subofficer Victor Ocmin, a member of the programming and acquisitions section. Prosecutors allege both state employees facilitated the lease agreement despite widespread public knowledge of Colchado's police status, which had been frequently highlighted in televised news broadcasts of law enforcement operations.
Fiscal documents reveal that when the police department requested the lease renewal, the purchasing area modified the terms of reference. The revised requirements specified that for intestate successions, technical bids were required to include a literal registry certificate from Sunarp and be submitted through a registered attorney-in-fact.
Colchado's representative submitted the required documentation on September 20, 2021, which included a sworn statement certifying that there were no legal impediments to contract with the state. The lease agreement was signed on November 30, 2021, between Martina Huamani Ordonez and Police Colonel Oscar Mautino Ortiz. After media reports exposed the transaction, the contract was officially revoked on June 30, 2024, one day prior to its scheduled expiration on July 1.
Requested penalties and financial damages
The Attorney General's Office reiterated that the case relies on verified official documents rather than political direction. Prosecutors explained that the crime of ideological falsehood applies when an individual deliberately records false information in a public document to evade legal prohibitions, while improper negotiation penalizes public servants who use their official positions to interfere in state procurement processes.
For Colchado, Prosecutor Paico requested five years and four months in prison for improper negotiation, alongside four years for ideological falsehood, resulting in a total request of nine years and four months of effective imprisonment. For Ramirez and Ocmin, the prosecution requested four years and eight months in prison each for improper negotiation, along with disqualification from holding public office.
Additionally, prosecutors requested a joint civil reparation payment of 100,000 soles from all three defendants for the improper negotiation charge. An additional civil reparation of 50,000 soles was requested specifically for the charge of ideological falsehood.
