TAX OFFICE CASE PROBE CHARGES CARTEL INVOLVEMENT

By Juan Montoya
In an eye-opening affidavit attached to a motion to seize and forfeiture and money bank accounts belonging to former Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector's Office employee Tony Menchaca, the Cameron County District Attorney's Office has charged that he used money gained from illicit activity provided for him by a Gulf Cartel member to purchase properties in delinquent tax sales which were later hidden through use of at least 14 businesses.
The motion for forfeiture was filed in the 103rd District Court May 25 and includes $6,951 in currency and the undisclosed contents of an account at the International Bank of Commerce.
The motion for forfeiture lists Maria Isabel and Maria T. Menchaca as the possessors of Verdejo Enterprises LLC doing business as Cameron County Auto Registration Service at 4670 Southmost Road, in Brownsville.
Lead investigator George E. Delaunay states for the court that he seized the property on April 29, 2016 after he determined that the property was "proceeds" under the Texas Penal Code dealing with Money Landering because the property was used in the commission of a felony or was intended to be used in a felony offense.
In the 16-page affidavit attached to the forfeiture motion, Delaunay states that the DA's Office had reasons to believe that Menchaca had committed the crimes of tampering with government records, abuse of official capacity, securities fraud and money laundering.
Delaunay states tghat in late 2013 he had received information from a confidential informant that employees of the tax office were involved in a scheme to acquire ownership of real properties using "inside knowledge" via the monthly county tax sales of properties for delinquent taxes, He further charges that the informant identified those employees as Menchaca and the elected Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre. Further, the informant told Delaunay that Menchaca had been purchasing real estate for several years, had used the tax office to research for properties, and had been using Limited Liability Corporations as straw purchasers of the properties and had done these things with the knowledge and concurrence of Yzaguirre.
Additionally, on April 7, 2014, Delaunay said he had received information from the Harlingen office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that they had received a telephone tip that a conspiracy existed between Yzaguirre, Menchaca and a man Allan Rene Ramirez to launder the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking through the purchase and sale of property acquired via the delinquent tax sales at the doors of the county courthouse held by the Cameron County Sheriff's Department.
The tipster alleged that Allan Ramirez was funneling money received from the relatives of convicted drug trafficker Osile Cardenas to Yzaguirre and Menchaca for investment in properties they acquired at extreme discounts during those sales. The tipster also alleged that Ramirez worked for the Gulf Cartel and that he was originally from Valle Hermoso, Mexico. Ramirez was said to have no means or employment but drove several expensive sports cars.
Further investigation revealed that Ramirez was lone of the managing members and registered agent of an LLC known as Area Enterprises Investments formed on February 18, 2012. The probe led investigators to confirm that Menchaca and his relatives and at least three of the LLCs they controlled were involved in the initial acquisition of the properties that were then transferred to Ramirez's Area Investments.
Delaunay charges that the properties were frequently be transferred from one entity to another to hide its true ownership. He charged that numerous properties were handled in this way and that the process is called "layering," a common practice used by someone who is trying to hide the true ownership of a particular property.
The affidavit also states that a tip from the Nashville, Tenn., office of the HSI regarding a drug and money laundering investigation there that involved a man named Gabriel Ochoa with links to two suspects under investigation by the Harlingen HSI office. The two were identified as Menchaca and Jorge Prado. According to the investigators, bank account deposits and withdrawals in Tennessee coincided with Ochoa crossing through Brownsville ports of entry with  Menchaca on at least two occasions using vehicles owned by Mencahca or his associated entities.
Prado, was said to have been involved with subjects involved in drug smuggling in getting vehicle registration done illegally by paying bribes to employees at the tax office.
The affidavit also links Menchaca to the arrest of Noe Puga, an employee at the Brownsville Planning and Zoning Department charging that Menchaca would use Puga change the zoning classification on properties without paying the fees, often with false information as to the true owner of the property. Puga, according to Delaunay, admitted to Brownsville police investigators that he had submitted zoning requests on behalf of Menchaca or one of his companies and the application fee had not been collected by the city.
The affidavit say that Menchaca had taken investment money from at least three individuals, bought the properties, sell them and then paid a return to the investors. Those amounts exceed $600,000.
In all, Delaunay said investigators identified approximately 35 bank accounts at five different banks including IBC (21), Texas Regional Bank (7), Capital One Bank (3), Rio Bank (2), and Wells Fargo Bank (2).