A Pasadena Chamber of Commerce official lifted public money to fund lifts and trips for years, prosecutors say.
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Houston Chronicle
Michael Murney, Chron
According to KPRC's Taylor, prosecutors allege that Jamie Huffar, 46, the financial director of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, embezzled $1.6 million over the past five years and spent that money on plastic surgery and fancy vacations, among other things.
Taylor reported that, according to charging documents, Huffar secured a loan for at least $30,000 and less than $150,000. She managed to obtain that loan in the Chamber of Commerce president's name.
"Documents also state that on July 23, 2021, she also forged signatures to obtain money of at least $300,000," KPRC's Taylor wrote in her Monday report.
“She stole from the chamber for years in many separate fashions,” prosecutor Mike Levine told Taylor. “We think the grand total of her thefts is going to be well over a million dollars, and some parts of the investigation are still ongoing but we’ve seen concrete, convincing evidence linking her to at least a million dollars in theft so far.”
According to KPRC's Taylor, prosecutors claim that Huffar defrauded Pasadena's Chamber of Commerce through multiple methods, including opening credit cards in the company's name and moving Commerce funds into her personal accounts without authorization, among others.
Huffar's bond sits at $1,250,000, or $250,000 per charge, even after her defense team requested a $20,000 bond for each case, according to KPRC's Taylor.