Violated exclusivity and stolen technology: the lawsuit that is shaking the Department of Health

The Department of Health (DS)

The Puerto Rico Department of Health is facing a lawsuit filed by Futucare LLC after awarding a multi-million dollar contract to XUVO Technologies LLC on May 19, 2025 , without a competitive bidding process. The contract was awarded to XUVO to manage digital operations, including licenses related to the Medical Cannabis Program . The selection was made directly, following an unofficial submission by XUVO, bypassing Tecsecure, Inc. , the company that had managed the RenovacionesOnline platform and handled certifications in various areas of the Department of Health since 2014 .

Futucare maintains that it had an agreement with the Ministry of Health since 2018 to develop and process medical licenses through its system. According to the lawsuit, XUVO allegedly used technology patented by Futucare (developed under a non-compete agreement) to launch the new system. XUVO is accused of misappropriating intellectual property, as well as violating confidentiality clauses, a work-for-hire agreement, and a non-compete agreement, which would call into question the validity of the contract signed with the Ministry of Health.

For its part, Tecsecure has not yet filed a lawsuit, although the government did take legal action against the company: the Court ordered the firm to hand over historical files of digital transactions up to June 27 , the date on which Health stopped its services, but refused to force the company to return the charges collected for incomplete procedures.

The agreements—whether with Tecsecure, Futucare, or XUVO—do not detail the revenue these companies receive, since the fee is charged directly to users ($19.95 to renew cannabis licenses, and in the case of XUVO, with additional charges of 9.5% to 18%). Although the government claims that no public funds are used, the payments actually come from citizens and are transferred to the Treasury Department.

XUVO's hiring comes in a context of previous allegations: in 2020, officials associated with XUVO were investigated for alleged efforts to secure contracts, although no official pressure or legal obstacles were found to prevent them from being hired.