McAlLEN, Texas – A brazen crime has shaken the community as Ofelia Alvarado Vallejo, 44, of Elsa, pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $90,000 from the Mid Valley House Residential Reentry Center.
According to the plea agreement, Vallejo, who worked as an administrative assistant at the halfway house from March 2012 through February 2013, embezzled over 600 money orders and vendor checks that belonged to Mid Valley and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The funds included subsistence payments by Mid Valley residents, payments for anger-management classes, and vendor checks that were commissions from laundry services. Vallejo was responsible for collecting all of these funds, posting the credit items to Mid Valley financial records, and depositing the credit items into Mid Valley’s corporate account at Bank of America.
However, instead of depositing the money orders and vendor checks into Mid Valley’s account, Vallejo deposited them into her personal accounts with JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America for her own benefit. She also falsified records to hide her criminal misconduct, including forging information on the money orders and falsifying Mid Valley’s financial records to conceal the missing funds.
During the one-year period beginning on March 1, 2012, Mid Valley received more than $10,000 in federal funding.
Under the plea agreement, Vallejo has agreed to pay back the funds that she embezzled as restitution.
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez has set sentencing for October 22, 2014, at which time Vallejo faces up to 10 years in federal prison. She was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.
This case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General with the assistance of the Edinburg Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Sully is prosecuting.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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