Former Harris County assistant treasurer accused of stealing more than $30,000 to pay blackmailing dominatrix
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A former Harris County first assistant treasurer is facing charges after being accused of stealing more than $30,000 from a credit union to pay off a "financial dominatrix" who was allegedly blackmailing him.
Gregory Lueb, 56, is charged with felony theft after he allegedly used two separate bank account funds that were not his to pay off his credit card debt and reportedly pay off a 'financial dominatrix' that he met on Collarspace, an S&M website.
Lueb was released from jail late Friday afternoon on a $1,000 bond. New video shows Leub dodging our questions about how he got caught up in the alleged theft.
Prosecutors told Eyewitness News that Lueb was second in command at the Harris County Treasurer's Office and worked there for three years, until he was fired earlier this week after a collections manager with the Harris County Federal Credit Union accused Lueb of credit card fraud.
According to court documents, the investigation started when Rhonda White told a deputy that Lueb opened a credit card account with the credit union on Sep. 9, 2016, and quickly maxed out the account's $10,000 limit through several cash advances.
White told prosecutors that she reported a pattern of online payments and cash advances which allowed Lueb to obtain more than $35,000.
After further investigation, White said she found out that Lueb was not the account holder on any of the payment accounts.
Investigators talked to the two account holders, whose numbers were allegedly used to make payments to Lueb's credit account, and both individuals denied knowing Lueb or giving him authorization to use their bank account funds to pay off his credit card debt.
Lueb allegedly told authorities that he willingly obtained funds from the Harris County credit union, which he then sent to the alleged "financial dominatrix." He claims she repeatedly demanded he send her money online or face consequences.
Court papers showed that Lueb told investigators that he had been texting with a woman he met on Collarspace, and he claimed he knew her as "Mistress Cindy." The two allegedly participated within a plot to steal money from the Harris County Federal Credit Union.
District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a press conference on Friday that Lueb had access to over $3 billion and he could transfer up to $100 million at a time using his signature.
"He had access to every single Harris County department's bank accounts," Ogg said.
Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez says that is not true, telling Eyewitness News it takes seven signatures to move any amount of money from county accounts.
"No one in Harris County individually has the ability to move any public funds. There is a series of checks and balances and internal controls and multiple layers of authorizations and signatures that have to accompany a transfer of money request," he said.
Sanchez, who says he worked with Lueb daily over the last three years, told ABC13 he was blindsided to learn about Lueb's arrest and charge.
"Shocked and dismayed. He's a gentleman that worked in our office and had access to quite a bit of county funds. It appears his personal life went off the rails," he said.
He described Lueb as a husband, father and Boy Scouts leader.
Sanchez says he is confident Lueb did not mishandle any tax payer dollars, which he had direct access to.
The Harris County Auditor's Office says he was an employee there for seven years before being hired by the treasurer's office.
Ogg said that there is no indication that anyone else working with the county was involved.
"We know he was stealing from Harris County employees because it's our money in the credit union. Credit union is self-insured," Ogg explained.
