SAN ANTONIO – A 44-year-old woman has been arrested and indicted after funds that were raised at an event were never donated to a charity, the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney's Office said.
Officers with the San Antonio Police Department's Repeat Offender Program arrested Andrea Vasquez on Thursday for four felony cases of theft.
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The District Attorney's Office said a Bexar County grand jury indicted Vasquez as a result of a joint investigation between its office and the San Antonio Police Department.
Vasquez hosted a charity event at a downtown venue Oct. 9, claiming the proceeds would be donated to the San Antonio chapter of "THair for You," which is a national charity that provides wigs to cancer patients, the District Attorney's Office said.
An oversized $20,000 presentation "check" made out to the charity was presented during the event. The District Attorney's Office said the comptroller for the charity stated that the charity never received any donation from the event.
Vasquez advertised that the event was hosted by a charity named the "Fashion for Cancer Foundation." The District Attorney's Office said it was determined that there was no charity named "Fashion for Cancer Foundation" registered as a nonprofit with the state of Texas.
A small business owner provided fashion-related services for the event. The District Attorney's Office said the event was paid for with checks from a business named "Lauren Nicole, LLC" -- a bank account associated with Vasquez.
The bank account did not have sufficient funds to cover the checks written, the District Attorney's Office said. The small business owner and checks written to vendors were never paid.
The checks and services totaled almost $30,000, the District Attorney's Office said.
Theft is a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years in state jail and up to a $10,000 fine. However, the District Attorney's Office said if convicted Vasquez could face two to 10 years in prison for each case because of her past criminal history.
Vasquez was sentenced in 2001 to 10 years in prison for killing a mother and injuring her daughter in an intoxication-related crash, the District Attorney's Office said.
Anyone who believes he or she has been a victim of Vasquez is asked to call SAPD's White Collar Division at 210-207-7451.
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