Federal Grand Jury Indicts Maverick County Commissioner Eliaz Maldonado
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ELIAZ MALDONADO
INDICTMENT
COUNTS ONE through FOUR: 18 U.S.C. § 1343, Wire Fraud
COUNTS FIVE and SIX: 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(I)(B), Receipt of a Bribe by Agent of an Organization Receiving Federal Funds.
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:
At All Times Material To This Indictment:
1. ELIAZ MALDONADO was an agent of Maverick County, Texas. ELIAZ MALDONADO held the position of Precinct One County Commissioner of Maverick County, Texas.
2. Maverick County, Texas had funds allotted to perform construction projects in 2010 and 2011.
3. Much of the labor for those construction projects was to be performed by private contractors, who would submit bids to the County Precincts where the work was to be performed.
4. ELIAZ MALDONADO entered into a scheme whereby he would receive financial compensation from private contractors who were awarded the construction contracts by Maverick County.
5. ELIAZ MALDONADO, in order to shield himself from discovery by law enforcement, utilized county employees as accomplices to collect the money from many of the private contractors performing county work. However, some private contractors distrusted the county employees so they paid money directly to ELIAZ MALDONADO.
6. Once a contract was awarded to a contractor, a check would be issued by Maverick County to the contractor. The contractor would then take the check to a bank, deposit the check, and retrieve cash.
7. The contractor would then take the cash to a Maverick County employee designated by ELIAZ MALDONADO, or the contractor himself would take the money directly to ELIAZ MALDONADO.
8. If the cash was given to a Maverick County employee, that Maverick County employee would then take the cash to ELIAZ MALDONADO, either delivering it to him by hand or leaving it in his Maverick County office. ELIAZ MALDONADO received numerous cash payments in 2010 and 2011.
9. In order to ensure that the private contractor received sufficient compensation to
pay his employees who performed the work, to make a profit, and to pay the extra funds to
ELIAZ MALDONADO, the contractors would inflate the bids they would turn into Maverick
County.
10. ELIAZ MALDONADO, through his employees, manipulated the bidding process to guarantee that contractors he chose would be awarded the Maverick County contracts.
COUNTS ONE through FOUR
[18 U.S.C. § 1343]
11. Paragraphs One through Ten above are realleged and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
12. From on or about June 16, 2010, to on or about July 12, 2011, in the Western District of Texas, Defendant,
ELIAZ MALDONADO,
devised and intended to devise a scheme to defraud Maverick County, Texas, and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. It was part of the scheme described above that the Defendant, for the purpose of executing the scheme, caused to be transmitted by means of wire communication in interstate commerce the signals and sounds described below for each count, that is wire transfers of information for the processing of cashed or deposited checks, each transmission constituting a separate count:
13. COUNT ONE: on June 16, 2010, a check drafted for $12,500 from Maverick County, Texas paid to the order of PRIVATE CONTRACTOR 1, was deposited and endorsed by PRIVATE CONTRACTOR I at Border Federal Credit Union.
14. COUNT TWO: on February 4, 2011, a check drafted for $14,000 from Maverick County, Texas paid to the order of PRIVATE CONTRACOR 2, was deposited and endorsed by PRIVATE CONTRACTOR 2 at IBC Bank.
15. COUNT THREE: on March 23, 2011, a check drafted for $9,250 from Maverick County, Texas paid to the order of PRIVATE CONTRACTOR 3, was deposited and endorsed by PRIVATE CONTRACTOR 3 at IBC Bank.
16. COUNT FOUR: on July 12, 2011, a check drafted for $8,100 from Maverick County, Texas paid to the order of PRIVATE CONTRACTOR 2, was deposited and endorsed by PRIVATE CONTRACTOR 2 at JBC Bank.
All inviolation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.
COUNT FIVE
[18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B)]
17. Paragraphs One through Ten above are realleged and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
18. From on or about June 1, 2010, to on or about December 31, 2010, in the Western District of Texas, the Defendant,
ELIAZ MALDONADO,
at all times material to this indictment being an agent and employee of Maverick County, Texas whose duties included ultimate responsibility for county construction projects in his precinct, said county receiving in the one year period beginning on January 1, 2010, benefits in excess of $10,000 under Department of Homeland Security Grant Program Operation Stonegarden, the Defendant did accept and agree to accept monetary compensation intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with a transaction and series of transactions of Maverick County worth at least $5,000, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(l)(B).
COUNT SIX
[18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B)]
19. Paragraphs One through Ten above are realleged and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
20. From on or about January 1, 2011, to on or about December 31, 2011, in the Western District of Texas, the Defendant,
ELIAZ MALDONADO,
at all times material to this indictment being an agent and employee of Maverick County, Texas whose duties included ultimate responsibility for county construction projects in his precinct, said county receiving in the one year period beginning on January 1, 2011, benefits in excess of $10,000 under Department of Homeland Security Grant Program Operation Stonegarden, the Defendant did accept and agree to accept monetary compensation intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with a transaction and series of transactions of Maverick County worth at least $5,000, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B).
