SAN ANTONIO – A City of San Antonio housing manager was allowed to stay in her role last year, despite an internal investigation that determined she embellished portions of her work history, records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.
Neighborhood & Housing Services Department (NHSD) Special Projects Manager Leticia Holt told investigators that portions of her listed past experience on her March 2024 application were “not true,” according to records.
In her original application to the city, Holt did not indicate being a supervisor while previously working for a San Antonio company called Builders Mechanical.
When Holt applied for her current role in March 2024, however, that section of her application had changed to indicate she supervised an employee while working for Builders Mechanical, records show.
Holt also acknowledged incorrectly stating on the same application that she had been a special projects manager since the date of her hire by the city.
“This is not true, I misspoke,” Holt wrote in a statement provided to investigators in late July 2024.
The city human resources investigation concluded that Holt had been directed to adjust her experience on her resume by a supervisor.
In April 2024, Holt had signed a conditional offer of employment for the position stating that she could be terminated for including misleading or incorrect statements on her application, according to records.
During a recent interview with KSAT, NHSD Director Veronica Garcia declined to name the supervisor that gave that direction, but defended keeping Holt in her current role.
“That was thoroughly reviewed. I believe that there’s a case of misunderstanding how to properly present experience versus an intentional misrepresentation,” Garcia said. “I will say when there is any concerns about how experience is represented on a resume, we do talk to the employee, get clear understanding on what the actual experience is and if they still qualify and meet the range of qualifications, they can remain in the position.”
City investigators became aware of the allegations against Holt after the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) came forward with a complaint, records show.
Councilwoman says city home improvement programs are too important to fail
An audit of NHSD, completed a year ago this week, described the agency as having an environment vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse.
The document stated that a lack of oversight within the agency caused ineffective and inefficient management of its home improvement programs.
The issues included NHSD staff altering and backdating records and in one instance, a then-housing administrator signing a work order in place of a homeowner who had died.
For months, KSAT Investigates has reported on complaints from homeowners about work done by NHSD’s highest paid contractor.
“The audit essentially corroborated what we had been hearing from residents participating in the program,” said District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo. “We need to ensure that we are protecting our community and our residents by keeping them housed and these programs help them stay within their home.”
The councilwoman told KSAT she has been pleased with changes instituted by NHSD since the audit findings were released.
“It was our duty and our responsibility to ensure that we strengthen our internal controls and really properly train staff and clarify our procedures,” said Garcia.
Along with improving program oversight, NHSD has participated in staff retraining and has developed a quality assurance process, records show.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.