Rep. Vicente Gonzalez paid $134,000 to a political firm run by a Texas man who was imprisoned for Medicare and Medicaid fraud, according to a report.
Gonzalez’s (D-TX) campaign is paying $3,000 per month to Southern Texas Strategies and has been using the political consultant firm since 2021, Politico reported. Over the years, the campaign has paid the firm $134,000.
Valente Alaniz, the owner of Southern Texas Strategies, was arrested in 2012 for defrauding the government through Medicare and Medicaid.
Since 2016, the Gonzalez campaign has paid more than $60,000 to Alaniz personally for “door-to-door get out the vote services” and “administrative services.”
Alaniz and his sister were arrested for a scheme involving power wheelchair sales. The pair created fraudulent wheelchair prescriptions from doctors that were never delivered. The scheme included fake bills to Medicare and Medicaid for wheelchairs with an inflated price.
Alaniz was sentenced to 37 months in prison.
Gonzalez told Politico he was proud to employ Alaniz once he purportedly ended his criminal activity.
“I was apprehensive at the beginning, but he has really turned his life around and has been a good husband, father, son, and employee to me ever since,” he said. “He has paid his debt to society and is an example to others who have been in his situation. I wish I had more employees like him.”
Alaniz told Politico he was thankful Gonzalez gave him a “second chance.”
“Those were mistakes of my past, which I regret. I have paid for those mistakes and have turned my life around,” he said. “And he has kept me employed for over 10 years now. For that, I will forever be grateful.”
Gonzales faces a highly anticipated rematch against former Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX) in November.
Delanie Bomar, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, slammed Gonzalez for his relationship with Alaniz.
“While South Texans work hard to make ends meet, Vicente Gonzalez and his staff are living large off the backs of the taxpayers,” she said. “Gonzalez must be held accountable for why he hired a man known for defrauding South Texans.”
Gonzalez faced criticism earlier this year when he said Republicans are “anti-Latino,” as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
“Clearly, without a doubt, these proposals [to increase border security] that are coming from the Republican Party are anti-immigrant but also anti-Latino, anti-American Latino,” Gonzalez had said. “It impacts our rights and liberties in this country.”
The congressman praised President Joe Biden last year for his handling of the illegal immigration crisis at the southern border.
“When they lifted Title 42 and implemented Title 7, which I advocated against … I’ll be the first to admit that I was wrong,” he said, per the Rio Grande Guardian. “What the President did, what Secretary Mayorkas has done, has positively impacted our border, and that’s a fact.”