Teodoso Garza, 58, owns Max Speed and Strength, a youth-focused gym in northwest Harris County. According to court documents, a credit card obtained during the membership process was fraudulently charged $11,000.
Mom Rachael Dicons said when she heard a fellow parent ask Garza when duplicate credit card charges would be resolved, her ears perked up.
"When I came home that night, I checked my card and my heart sank to see that in the last week, I think there were five charges for a thousand dollars each," Dicons said.
Dicons said she enrolled her two kids at the gym in November of last year, and agreed to pay $1,100 per kid for a yearly membership. But since then, Dicons said she and her bank have discovered 11 unauthorized charges totaling over $11,000.
"Myself and my husband were contacting him, and he wasn't answering at all, and I was getting a nervous feeling," Dicons said.
Dicons said she eventually heard from Garza, who told her the charges were an error and could be fixed, but when he refused to meet her, she called law enforcement and pressed charges.
"What's weighing on my heart is that there may be other hard-working parents who may have lost funds and not come forward, or don't even know or haven't checked," Dicons said.
After the Harris County Sheriff's Office issued an arrest warrant, Garza turned himself in on Wednesday, charged with the fraudulent use of a credit card.
ABC13 called Garza before being directed to his attorney. His attorney said Garza is innocent until proven guilty and that they are defending the case.
Dicons says her bank was able to recoup her $11,000, and she hopes the charges she pressed protect others moving forward.
This isn't the first time Garza has faced criminal charges. Garza was sentenced to six years' probation in 1991 for theft between $750 to $2,000, and in 2013, Garza had to complete a class after writing a bad check, according to records.
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