María Milagros Charbonier

On August 17, 2020 Charbonier was arrested by the FBI for multiple public corruption cases that were under investigation. The charges includes theft, bribery, kickbacks, and money laundering. The federal grand jury 13-count indictment is against Charbonier herself, her husband Orlando Montes-Rivera (Montes), their son Orlando Gabriel Montes-Charbonier, and Charbonier assistant Frances Acevedo-Ceballos (Acevedo). She presented her letter of resignation the next day, which will be effective on September 15, 2020.

As of 2012, María Milagros Charbonier had been married for 28 years with attorney Orlando Montes Rivera. They have two children. On August 17, 2020 the FBI arrested Charbonier along with her husband and son.

After her reelection in 2016, Charbonier was named as the president of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Commission of the Judiciary.

She is a controversial figure in politics due to her traditional views on LGBT individuals, the legalization of marijuana, among other subjects. As part of her anti-LGBT activism Charbonier has attempted to block same-sex marriage through the Courts by suing the governor arguing that the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in Obergefell v. Hodges did not apply to Puerto Rico because of its status as an unincorporated territory. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico handed down an opinion dismissing the claim and stating that the plaintiffs did not have a remote chance of prevailing. She has also been criticized for attempts at legalizing discrimination against LGBT individuals through religious exemptions and legislation. During public hearings in 2013 on a bill to extend protections against domestic violence to same sex couples, Charbonier compared homosexuality to pedophilia and bestiality, drawing criticism for other legislators and LGBTQ activists.

Charbonier won a spot on the PNP ballot at the primaries earlier in 2012. She arrived in fifth place in the voting. She was elected at the 2012 elections, receiving the second highest number of votes within her party, behind incumbent Speaker Jenniffer González.

She appeared in a ballot for the first time in 2008 when she ran for delegate from Puerto Rico to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She was pledged to then Senator Barack Obama. She subsequently switched to the Republican Party and ran for delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention, pledged to Ben Carson.

Charbonier has been censored by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico for unethical conduct and faced three other complaints before the Supreme Court. The censorship by the Supreme Court was handed down in 2002 after she issued an affidavit as a notary in which she stated two witnesses who were not present were present. She faced a second complaint in 2006 when two individuals, one of whom was a former police agent, submitted a complaint after Charbonier publicly accused them of selling information to drug dealers; the complaint was dismissed by the Court. In 2015 a third complaint was heard before the Court after allegations she had over billed for legal work performed for the municipality of Canovanas, this complaint was dismissed because a majority of the Justices believed that it was unreasonable to ask Charbonier to explain events that had happened over a decade ago. She now faces a fourth ethical complaint due to a contract written by her as a notary in 1999.

In 1986, Charbonier received a bachelor's degree in Arts, with a major in Social Science from the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras. After that, she completed a Juris doctor from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law. Charbonier passed the bar exam, which allows her to practice law in Puerto Rico.

María Milagros Charbonier Laureano (born November 24, 1963) is a Puerto Rican lawyer and politician. She was elected to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives on the 2012 general election. She also served as Secretary General of the New Progressive Party (PNP). She is known for her controversial views against the LGBT community. She was arrested by the FBI in August 2020, and faces 13 charges of corruption for numerous crimes, which include theft and money laundering, perpetrated specifically through a kickback scheme.

María Milagros Charbonier was born on November 24, 1963 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico to Roberto Charbonier and Milagros Laureano. She studied in various schools in the metropolitan area, graduating from high school in 1981 from the Dr. José M. Lázaro High School.