HOUSTON – A Houston woman has been charged with eight counts of wire fraud, according to the Department of Justice.
Rosina K. Blanco, who also goes by the name Rosina Aviles, was arrested Friday. The 38-year-old is accused of defrauding Sugar Land Mission.
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She submitted “falsified funds requests to an investment adviser for the Basilian Father’s Missions of the Catholic Church,” according to a news release.
A grand jury returned a sealed indictment against Blanco on June 29, which was unsealed upon her arrest by federal authorities, officials said.
On Aug. 31, 2015, Blanco was hired as a bookkeeper for the BFM. She made more than $1 million in unauthorized transfers from BFM accounts to accounts in her name, according to the indictment.
Officials said Blanco used a computer to transmit fraudulent and falsified fund transfer requests from the Southern District of Texas to the BFM investment manager in St. Louis, who then transferred more than $1 million in BFM funds, according to the charges.
From September 2015 to October 2016, Blanco transferred about $1,107,425 from BFM accounts to her personal accounts without authorization, according to the indictment.
Blanco allegedly used the majority of these funds for personal expenses, such as jewelry, furniture, luxury cars, real estate, Louis Vuitton handbags, goods and services for her dog and other luxury items, the release said.
The FBI conducted the investigation.
The BFM, which is headquartered in Sugar Land, raises money in North America to support schools in Mexico and Colombia. It reports to the Congregation of St. Basil, an order of Catholic priests in Toronto, Canada. The BFM receives funding from several sources, including the Congregation of St. Basil in Canada, individual mail solicitations and mission offerings, the news release from the Department of Justice said.
