ENID — Police in Edmond and Enid are investigating similar claims of fraud that occurred at Walmart stores in each of the cities at separate times on the same day, March 29.

Last week, Enid Police Department took a report of fraud at Walmart, 5505 W. Garriott, where a black woman posing as a store employee used cash cards to abscond with thousands of dollars.

http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html

Sgt. Dustin Albright said the woman entered the store at 7:39 p.m. March 29 wearing a blue shirt, dark pants and a Walmart name tag with the name “Tabby.”

The woman approached a clerk at a register and said she had just finished in the money center, but she had four Green Dot Money Pak cards that needed to be loaded with $1,000 each.

The clerk loaded the cards with cash, which can then be used to load money onto other prepaid cards, transferred to a PayPal account or make same-day payments to companies. The woman took the cards and left the store, getting into a red mini-van.

Albright said a similar scam at a Walmart in Duncan had been reported to law enforcement officials there that same day.

The Edmond Sun reported a similar incident at a Walmart store there earlier in the day.

At 12:30 p.m. an Edmond Police Department officer spoke with a representative at a Walmart at 2200 W. Danforth concerning fraud. They said the suspect had obtained three of the Green Dot Money Pak cards at $1,000 each.

A store employee told police a similar scam had been used at another Walmart store in Edmond and another in Del City.

Officers took a second report of scam March 29 from Walmart at 1225 W. I-35 Frontage Road that occurred March 15.

Enid detectives said they do not want to say the suspects in the stores are the same person.

Albright said information from the Enid case was forwarded to the Oklahoma Information Fusion Center, a information gathering service for law enforcement, and was released as a bulletin to other law enforcement agencies.

SUNLAND PARK – Authorities have arrested Sunland Park Mayor-elect Daniel Salinas and another man charged in an alleged scheme to fraudulently bill the border town for thousands of dollars worth of entertainment, including strippers and prostitutes, during a border conference last year in Mexico.

Salinas, 28, who is already facing bribery and extortion charges in two other cases, also allegedly conspired to charge Sunland Park for a campaign video by hiding that expense in a bill for a video promoting a border crossing project, according to court documents.

http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html

On Friday, New Mexico State Police arrested Salinas on 18 criminal counts that include fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, receiving an illegal kickback, soliciting an illegal kickback, making or permitting false public vouchers, violation of ethical principles of public service and prohibited official acts for personal financial interest.

Attempts Friday to contact attorney Joshua Spencer, who represented Salinas in a hearing before the state Supreme Court last week, were not successful.

Authorities also arrested Jorge I. Angulo, 69, of El Paso, who allegedly conspired with Salinas to set up a “pyramid scheme” where Angulo charged Sunland Park for lodging, meals, alcohol and strippers he allegedly provided for Salinas and three city employees during the November 2011 border conference.

Angulo is charged with six counts that include fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, making or permitting false public vouchers and conspiracy to commit making or permitting false public vouchers.

Jesus Dario Hernandez, Sunland Park’s public works director, is also facing related charges of fraud, marking or permitting false public vouchers, and violation of ethical principles of public service.

Hernandez, 55, has been at large since authorities issued an arrest warrant for him earlier this year charging him with tampering with evidence in connection with the extortion investigation. He is believed to be in Mexico.

The latest revelations, detailed in court documents, add another layer of alleged wrongdoing in Sunland Park, which has seen 10 city employees arrested since February and is currently without a mayor as Salinas, who was elected to that position on March 6, lost a legal challenge this week to be sworn-in before an April 5 deadline.

A District Court judge earlier this year barred Salinas from City Hall after he was charged in an alleged extortion plot to blackmail a rival mayoral candidate with a video showing him with a topless dancer. Salinas is also charged with bribery for allegedly installing the city’s acting police chief in exchange for the chief’s sister not running for a city council seat held by a Salinas political ally.

The allegations involve $12 million that Stan Fulton, owner of the Sunland Park Race Track and Casino, gave to Sunland Park last year to establish a border crossing fund, according to court documents.

In order to create a border crossing between Mexico and the United States in Sunland Park, the city needed an environmental impact study to obtain a Presidential Permit. On Nov. 2, 2011, Sunland Park signed a $2.4 million contract with Envirosystems Management Consultants, a firm based in Santa Teresa, N.M., to conduct the environmental impact study. Angulo managed and ran the firm with a business partner, authorities said.

Before the city entered into the contract, Salinas allegedly ordered Jaime Aguilera, the city manager, to collect a $10,000 campaign donation from Angulo, as well as another $10,000 that Angulo donated to City Councilor Angelica Marquez’s campaign, court records said.

Aguilera told investigators Thursday that Salinas wanted Marquez to win a seat on the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners, where she could ostensibly exert influence on the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority, which controls water rights, according to court documents.

From Nov. 17-19, 2011, Salinas, then Sunland Park’s mayor pro-tem, attended the XXIV Border Legislative Conference in Saltillo, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico, with Hernandez, Aguilera, and Arturo Alba, the city’s public information officer, according to court documents.

Sunland Park City Councilors Marquez and Christian Lira had also expressed interest in attending, but Lira backed out at the last minute, and Marquez could not attend because of passport issues, authorities said.

Angulo met the Sunland Park officials at the conference, and provided them each $250 per diem in spending money. Angulo also paid for their hotel, meals, and nightlife, which consisted of alcohol and visits to strip clubs. Angulo also paid for Salinas and Alba to visit a brothel, according to court documents.

In order to get around the per-diem set by Sunland Park, Salinas allegedly set up a “pyramid scheme” where Angulo invoiced the city through Envirosystems. The money would then be paid back to Angulo through the city’s border crossing fund, court records said.

Envirosystems later billed the city $10,240.72 for what it said were travel expenses, lodging, transportation and the presentation costs incurred during the border conference, authorities said.

Aguilera, who himself is also facing extortion charges on an unrelated case, told investigators that Salinas believed they were entitled to the compensation and benefits provided by Angulo because of the Envirosystems contract, according to court documents.

After the Mexico trip, Angulo allegedly contracted with a local media design company to produce videos for the border crossing project and for Salinas’ mayoral campaign, authorities said.

The border crossing promotion video was filmed in El Paso, and showed Angulo and his business partner in a staged scene, court records said. The Salinas campaign video showed him giving a scripted speech, and also depicted several city employees, including Sunland Park Police Sgt. Jaime Reyes, in various staged scenes. Reyes later told investigators that he had been told that Salinas wanted him to be filmed for a Sunland Park promotional video, not for Salinas’ campaign, court records said.

Alba, who is also facing extortion charges in an earlier case, recently told investigators that there had been several meetings at Sunland Park City Hall where Salinas, Aguilera and Angulo discussed the campaign and border crossing project videos.

Aguilera, who described the city’s relationship with Envirosystems as “legitimate in some respects but illegitimate in others,” told investigators that he had told Salinas that the cost of producing a campaign video was not worth it. He said Salinas replied that Angulo would pay for the video, and that it would be a hidden cost invoiced back to the city, court records said.

Angulo told Alba that the Salinas video would cost $7,000. Envirosystems later billed Sunland Park $26,921 for the border crossing promotional video: The bill encompassed the hidden cost of Salinas’ campaign video, authorities said.

The Sunland Park City Council is expected to proclaim the mayor’s seat as vacant when it meets Tuesday.

(Update at 353 p.m.)

SUNLAND PARK— Authorities today charged Daniel Salinas and two other people with fraud.

Salinas, who is already facing extortion and bribery charges, is also now charged with receiving and soliciting kickbacks, according to court documents.

Salinas was Sunland Park’s mayor pro tem., and was elected mayor earlier this year, but prevented from taking office because of the criminal charges against him. Authorities today also charged Jesus Dario Hernandez, Sunland Park’s public works director, and Jorge I. Angulo, 69, of El Paso, with fraud.