A Republican congresswoman facilitated a $2.4 million taxpayer-backed funding earmark for an organization that recently saw its founder arrested for allegedly stealing money from Ponzi scheme victims, according to a report.
Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) obtained the appropriations earmark last year for Angels of Love Advocacy Project, a nonprofit group focused on helping domestic violence and sexual assault victims. The GOP lawmaker was set in late May of this year to hold a press conference with the charity’s founder, attorney Della Fay Perez, who was arrested a few days before the event and charged with stealing almost two dozen restitution checks for victims of a $7 billion Ponzi scheme led by the former chairman of a defunct Caribbean-based bank, Politico reported.
Angels of Love, De La Cruz said, was “thoroughly vetted by the House of Representatives” for the federal funding.
The lawmaker said members of the South Texas community were “surprised by these accusations” against Fay Perez, who De La Cruz said “has served in various leadership roles in South Texas over the years.”
De La Cruz, who entered the House last year, represents the 15th Congressional District in Texas — which is majority Hispanic. Fay Perez was at the opening of De La Cruz’s Rio Grande office in 2023 and previously campaigned for the lawmaker, according to social media posts.
Earlier this year, De La Cruz issued a congratulations on her Facebook page to Fay Perez for her selection to the Leadership Texas Class of 2024, a program for female leaders in the Lone Star State.
Between 2021 and 2023, Fay Perez directed over $2,700 to campaign committees tied to De La Cruz, Federal Election Commission records show.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Last month, Fay Perez stepped down as president of Angels of Love, the group’s executive director told Politico. The director called De La Cruz a “compassionate and strong advocate for the women and children of our community.”
De La Cruz’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
