Sanchez: Taxpayer money safe after firing of worker in alleged blackmail scam
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On Tuesday, the Harris County Treasurer explained that taxpayer money is safe after firing an employee who claims he was blackmailed by a "financial dominatrix."
"I just wanted to clear up, the public's money is safe as it has been for the last 12 years," said Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez.
Former Harris County first assistant treasurer Gregory Lueb was arrested on a felony theft charge for allegedly stealing $30,000 from the Harris County Federal Credit Union and giving it to a dominatrix he met on an S&M website.
However, Sanchez said in a press conference Tuesday morning that is not true.
"No public money was involved in this allegation made by the gentleman who is involved with a sexually oriented website. This is a personal matter. His personal banking account and it is a banking institution chartered elsewhere. Harris County has nothing to do with it," Sanchez explained.
Sanchez stated that the Harris County Treasurer's Office is also routinely audited and that their audits from the last 12 years have been clean.
Lueb has been under investigation for at least the last six months, something that Sanchez said he did not know about until early last week.
Sanchez then fired Lueb on the spot within an hour of him finding out about the investigation.
"He was escorted out of the building. He was deactivated from all county accounts, including the accounts at the banks. All of his IDs were removed and keys were collected," Sanchez said.
"If the district attorney was concerned about the taxpayer funds, I certainly needed to know six months ago that one of my employees was under investigation," he continued. "I would have taken immediate action as I did last week to terminate and if not, terminate, at least suspend his access to any county funds."
Sanchez also said that the announcement Ogg made about Lueb's charges last week left the impression that one person with just one signature could move millions of dollars of Harris County funds.
"That couldn't be further from the truth," Sanchez said.
Lueb, 56, was released from jail late Friday afternoon on a $1,000 bond.
