The FBI has arrested a bookkeeper from San Antonio for the second time, suspecting her involvement in another scheme to steal from the companies she had been working for in recent months.
Monica Marie Padilla, 47, had been arrested on 30 criminal charges in 2023 and was previously released on a $20,000 unsecured bond. However, during a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth “Betsy” Chestney on Monday, her bond was revoked.
In the ruling, Chestney pointed out evidence of Padilla’s “dishonest, deceptive, and illegal behavior” during her time on bond. As a result, she determined that Padilla should stay in custody until her trial.
“She’s also violated other conditions of her release that I specifically imposed to protect the community from further dishonest behavior by the defendant, given her significant criminal history of engaging in such behavior and the pending charges,” the judge said.
Just two days prior to her arrest on February 21st at her residence on Sulky Drive, Padilla was faced with a new superseding indictment in the original federal case. This updated indictment presented fewer charges against her, now totaling 13 counts of wire fraud and five counts of mail fraud. On Monday, she entered a plea of not guilty to these charges.
Padilla was initially charged with 23 counts of wire fraud and seven counts of aggravated fraud. The allegations against her involve the embezzlement of almost $500,000 from two San Antonio businesses.
According to federal prosecutors, Padilla’s bond was revoked because she started working at an accounting and bookkeeping firm in November, referred to as “Company 3.”
On February 21, the company notified federal authorities about incidents where Padilla allegedly transferred money from two clients’ accounts to accounts she controlled without authorization.
A small law firm from out-of-state reported that approximately $15,000 was transferred from their bank account to an account belonging to a family member of Padilla, identified by the initials “MP.”
According to FBI Special Agent Matthew Weishuhn, MP’s account received a transfer of approximately $13,000 from a different out-of-state company known as the “Online Sales Victim.”
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Stephenson, she emphasized to the judge the defendant’s actions while on pretrial release. Ms. Stephenson argued for the revocation of the defendant’s bond, stating that she had been working for a company, claiming to provide bookkeeping services, but in reality, she was stealing their money.
According to a colleague, the audacity of committing the same crime while on pretrial release, for which she was already indicted, is a clear sign to me that no conditions set by this court can deter her from repeating such actions.
According to the motion filed by Stephenson, it was revealed that Padilla, during her employment with Company 3, had accessed and modified client bank account information. The employee monitoring software used by the company provided evidence of this misconduct. Padilla’s employment, which earned her approximately $9,000, was terminated on the day of her arrest.
Roland Garcia, Padilla’s public defender, made an unsuccessful argument that there are potential conditions that could be imposed for her release on bond in order to safeguard the community’s safety. These conditions might include monitoring her computers and phones or having her husband ensure that she does not have access to any internet-connected devices.
When Padilla was arrested, the FBI seized her personal computer, phone, and financial documents after executing a search warrant. The FBI is currently in the early stages of its investigation into the recent alleged crimes.
According to federal prosecutors, Padilla allegedly violated the terms of her bond by neglecting to notify Company 3 of the charges against her. Furthermore, she failed to inform court officials about her employment with the company, as mandated by the court.
Prosecutors claim that she purposely tried to avoid being detected by modifying her Social Security number, altering her birth date, and providing a false driver’s license number on her employment documents for Company 3.
The criminal trial of Padilla, which was scheduled to begin next Monday, has been postponed. This decision came after Garcia, the defense attorney, requested additional time to thoroughly review new evidence and materials related to the case. The presiding judge, Jason Pulliam, has not yet determined a new date for the trial.
