San Antonio I.S.D. Trustee Arrested in Connection with a Bribery and Kickback Scheme

(Press Release) In San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday, February 16, 2017, FBI agents arrested 66–year-old San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) Trustee Olga Hernandez for her alleged role in a bribery scheme depriving taxpayers of honest services announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.

A federal grand jury indictment unsealed this afternoon, alleges that from March 2008 to May 2015, Hernandez conspired with Samuel Mullen, Chief Financial Officer of the Mullen Pension & Benefits Group, LLC; Joshua Cerna, Vice President of Strategic Markets for the Mullen Group; and, William Haff, a paid independent insurance consultant, to defraud SAISD and taxpayers in securing health insurance services contracts for school district employees by corrupt practices.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that Hernandez accepted bribes in the form of cash, jewelry, and travel from co-conspirators for her influence on the SAISD Board of Trustees and her vote on numerous insurance services contracts awarded to companies with whom the Mullen Group had a financial interest.

Upon conviction, Hernandez faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Roomberg and Joseph Blackwell are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.

An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.