Brickbat: Help Yourself

Selene Varela pleaded guilty to theft concerning a program receiving federal funds and faces up to 10 years in federal prison for stealing money meant to help homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic. While working in the Community Development Department in Amarillo, Texas, Varela created fake landlords, tenants, and housing applications so she could steal $41,350 in federal housing aid, even paying her own rent for six months with housing vouchers. Authorities said she cashed the fraudulent payments through relatives while working remotely during the pandemic. Two other former city employees also pleaded guilty in related cases: Varela’s supervisor, Amy Dixon, admitted to embezzling about $465,000 from the homeless assistance program and was sentenced to two years in federal prison, while grant manager Vanessa Robinson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to embezzle over $121,000 from the same program and will serve 18 months.