There is nothing like family. The family that steals together are like the Bidens, but isn’t that true of many Democrats? The good new is that very few if any ever see a prison cell from the inside. Andrea Cardenas, a sitting Chula Vista City Council member, and her elder brother, Jesus Cardenas, who previously served as the chief of staff to San Diego City Councilman Stephen Whitburn have been charged with fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Sounds just like the Bidens, doesn’t it?
The pair applied for a $176,227 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and received it. At the time, Jesus claimed that Grassroots Resources, a local government and political consulting firm had 34 employees and did not participate in political action even though they did political work for County Supervisors Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer, San Diego City Councilman Stephen Whitburn, and even Andrea Cardenas’ own campaign for Chula Vista City Council.
According to the charging documents, Jesus Cardenas is accused of misrepresenting the nature and scale of Grassroots Resources to secure the PPP loan. He allegedly claimed the company had 34 employees and further denied its operations as a political consulting entity. But the deceit doesn’t end there. The funds obtained under these pretenses were reportedly used for personal expenses.
Andrea was not to be outdone by her brother as she accused of collaborating with her brother in this fraudulent scheme. a report by La Prensa highlighted that she declared an income from Grassroots Resources as an “employee salary” ranging between $10,001 and $100,000, which is above and beyond her salary as a city councilperson 0of $60,000. Not a bad gig if you can get it.
The charges they face are severe and encompass conspiracy, money laundering, grand theft, and tax fraud, among others. Their arraignment is set for Nov. 9 at 1:30 p.m. at the San Diego Superior Court building downtown. The potential consequences are dire. If convicted, Andrea Cardenas could be looking at a prison sentence of up to five years and eight months, while Jesus Cardenas might face up to four years and four months behind bars.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELFor context, La Prensa reported:
Grassroots Resources provided campaign services in support of several political campaigns throughout San Diego County in the past several years, including County Supervisors Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer, San Diego City Councilman Stephen Whitburn, and even Andrea Cardenas’ own campaign for Chula Vista City Council.
Andrea Cardenas has listed Grassroots Resource as her only source of income since at least 2019 when she filed her first economic interest form when she first launched her campaign for Chula Vista City Council.
At the time, a website for a company named Political Strategies, Inc., which was a partnership between Grassroots Resources, TMC Direct, and the San Diego Group, another San Diego-based consulting group, mentioned that “Today Grassroots Resources is run by Andrea Cardenas, and a team of political professionals.”
Cardenas ended her successful 2020 campaign for Chula Vista City Council with $38,991.89 in debts, including owing TMC Direct $35,991.89 for six separate campaign mailers delivered to voters without Cardenas paying for them.
Six months after the election, Cardenas loaned her campaign $33,500 and paid off the outstanding debts owed to TMC Direct.
Cardenas’ latest campaign finance report for the first half of 2023 still lists her debts as a total of $36,500, of which $35,800 are loans she made to her own campaign. Under the City’s campaign finance rules, candidate can only loan their campaigns up to $10,000 which can be repaid through campaign contributions, but the remaining loan amounts are considered contributions which cannot be recovered.
