Democratic State Senator Carlos Uresti’s Offices Raided by FBI, IRS

Via Dwight comes word that the offices of Democratic State Senator Carlos Uresti have been raided by the FBI and the IRS:

Agents have been confiscating documents from the office of the Democratic lawmaker.

“I can confirm the FBI and IRS are lawfully present and conducting a lawful law enforcement activity,” FBI spokeswoman Michelle Lee told the Express-News.

Lee also said no arrests have been made so far.

Uresti is currently facing a grand jury investigation into possible public corruption charges related to his involvement with FourWinds, a San Antonio oil-field services company accused of defrauding investors.

While Uresti is “innocent until proven guilty,” having both the FBI and IRS lawfully conducting lawful law enforcement in your office is not a good sign.

When last we checked on Sen. Uresti, he was sharing a bathroom with a female staffer not his wife and involved in the UT admissions scandal.

Here’s more on the FourWinds story, which I had not been previously following:

The one-time marketing director for a bankrupt San Antonio frac-sand company with ties to state Sen. Carlos Uresti has been criminally charged in an alleged scheme to defraud investors.

On Wednesday, Eric Nelson was charged in an information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud for allegedly altering a FourWinds Logistics’ bank statement to inflate the amount of money in the account. The bank statement was then mailed by an unnamed co-conspirator to prospective investors, according to the charging document.

Nelson has agreed to a plea deal, according to sources, but records show that it is sealed. His attorneys declined to comment.

The San Antonio Express-News in August chronicled the demise of FourWinds, which had more than $14 million in claims against it. Investors have alleged that CEO Stan Bates wasted their money on personal expenses, expensive gifts, exotic car rentals and lavish vacation, according to a court document. Bates has denied the allegations.

Uresti provided legal services for FourWinds and served as its outside general counsel for four or five months in 2014, he said in an interview this summer. He received FourWinds shares, as well as a $40,000 loan from the company that he failed to disclose initially. He also collected a $27,000 commission on a Harlingen woman’s $900,000 investment in a joint venture with FourWinds. The woman ended up losing about $800,000.

Really, who of us hasn’t forgotten a $40,000 loan? “Oh yeah! That little thing! Sorry, totally slipped my mind!”

Uncle Sam’s mills grind slowly, but exceedingly fine. One way or another, I suspect Republicans will view Uresti’s west Texas District 19 as a pickup target in 2020…if not sooner…

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3 Responses to “Democratic State Senator Carlos Uresti’s Offices Raided by FBI, IRS”

  1. roadgeek says:

    “…having both the FBI and IRS lawfully conducting lawful law enforcement in your office is not a good sign. …”

    Could’ve been worse. A 60 Minutes camera crew could have been present….

  2. John E Foddrill sr says:

    Uresti and DA LaHood are involved in other criminal activity

    see CASTROGATE.COM

  3. Lawrence Person says:

    Whatever the facts in the case, people are going to find your site hard to take seriously until you learn how to use commas…

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