New reporting from Politico exposes vulnerable Republican Monica De La Cruz’s relationship with Della Fay Perez – a Texas attorney who was arrested for allegedly stealing half a million dollars from victims of a Ponzi scheme.
In late May, Monica De La Cruz was supposed to hold a press conference to show off the nearly $2.4 million earmark she secured for a local advocacy project founded by Della Fay Perez.
Perez, however, was not able to join De La Cruz on stage, having been arrested days prior.
Perez is a campaign donor and supporter of Monica De La Cruz and has appeared on De La Cruz’ social media, even attending events like her office opening in Rio Grande office last year.
After the Politico story was published, in a clear move to try to distance herself from Perez, De La Cruz deleted a Facebook post where she called Perez a friend.
DCCC Spokesperson Lauryn Fanguen:
“It’s no surprise that Monica De La Cruz and Della Fay Perez are personal friends. They have so much in common, both only looking out for themselves at the expense of everyday South Texans.”
Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) steered a couple million dollars of taxpayer money to an organization founded by an acquaintance who was recently arrested for allegedly stealing half a million dollars from victims of a Ponzi scheme, Daniel reports.
De La Cruz last year obtained nearly $2.4 million dollars in an earmark for Angels of Love Advocacy Project, an organization founded by Della Fay Perez that helps victims of domestic violence in the Rio Grande Valley. Perez was supposed to appear at a press conference with De La Cruz in late May to announce $7 million in funding for Angels of Love and other projects in several Texas cities, but Perez was arrested a few days before on charges of stealing 21 restitution checks paid to victims of Allen Stanford’s multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.
Perez took the checks and deposited them into a bank account belonging to herself, per the indictment. She pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were unrelated to De La Cruz or Perez’s work for Angels of Love.
Perez, a lawyer whose LinkedIn profile also says she’s the state director of Miss Texas World America, has campaigned for De La Cruz, appearing in a picture on the congresswoman’s Facebook account last June. Perez also attended the opening of De La Cruz’s Congressional office in the Rio Grande last year.
In January, De La Cruz congratulated Perez for being selected to the Leadership Texas Class of 2024. Perez donated a total of $2,770 to De La Cruz’s campaigns between 2021 and 2023, according to FEC records.