Court records released by the Willacy County District Attorney’s office Monday afternoon accuse Vanessa Tijerina of stealing more than $73,000 from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission between March 2012 and August 2016.
Court records released by the Willacy County District Attorney’s office Monday afternoon accuse Vanessa Tijerina of stealing more than $73,000 from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission between March 2012 and August 2016.
Tijerina, who is running for the U.S. Representative District 15, was arrested Friday after the indictment was first unsealed and was formally charged with aggregation of amounts involved in theft, a third-degree felony.
When asked for comment, the 38-year-old said the charges against her were false.
“I deny any and all of the allegations,” she told The Monitor.
The candidate has accused officials of arresting her for political reasons, characterizing it as backlash resulting from her vocal accusations of corruption against them.
“The purpose of this type of arrest, during a campaign, is to force the candidate to explain themselves and the charges against them. I’m not going to fall into that trap. … I will leave it up to the officials that arrested me to release those details,” she later stated.
She was released that same day on a $10,000 bond court records show. If convicted of a third-degree felony, Tijerina faces up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
This marks Tijerina’s third arrest since she began speaking out against perceived corruption in Raymondville and Willacy County, she stated. A Raymondville Chronicle article published June 1 details an arrest in May. The article states Tijerina was accused of violating protective orders filed by Diana Conde, who accused Tijerina of harassing her. Another article states Tijerina was arrested in May 2014 on an assault charge that was later dismissed.
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