Man Arrested on Suspicion of Taking, Using School District Credit Card

Authorities have arrested a Ventura man on suspicion of taking credit cards held by former Oxnard school board President Art Hernandez and using them to make nearly $4,400 in purchases at jewelry and retail stores.

Investigators with the district attorney’s office arrested Mario Iniguez, 27, Tuesday on suspicion of forgery and the unauthorized use of a credit card. Iniguez works as an office assistant in the Oxnard Job and Career Center, part of the county’s welfare-to-work program.

Hernandez, who is director of the center, called the arrest a relief. He said he felt people thought he was a suspect after a school district credit card in his name was used to make thousands of dollars in purchases.

“It has been difficult on me and my family,” Hernandez said. “[The arrest] takes any kind of attention and suspicion off anything that I may have been involved in.”

Hernandez, 43, recently finished his first term as a trustee of the Oxnard Union High School District and now serves on the board of the Ventura County Community College District.

While serving on the high school board, Hernandez reported losing his card twice--in May and September. He originally thought he was just being careless, but now realizes he was a victim of theft.

“I’m really disappointed that it was someone in my office,” he said. “I guess you just have to be careful.”

Fourteen purchases were made, including jewelry, clothes and a microwave oven. Officials said several of those items were found in the homes of Iniguez and his mother.

Credit card statements show there were $1,777 in expenses in May, including $1,287 to Daniel’s Jewelers, $293 to Wal-Mart and other expenses at Macy’s, Vons and three gas stations.

In September, there were $2,612 in expenses, including a $2,300 purchase at Muro’s Jewelers, $191 to Macy’s West in Ventura, $52 to three gas stations and $11 to a fast-food restaurant.

The district attorney’s office investigated the $4,389 in expenses because the purchases were made with public funds.

“Because it was a public credit card assigned to a public official, we looked into it,” said Gary Auer, chief of the district attorney’s bureau of investigation. “We discovered that it was in both cases thefts that occurred.”

Investigators checked the retail stores and received descriptions of the individuals who made the purchases.

That led to Iniguez as a potential subject, officials said.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Herbert Curtis issued a search warrant Tuesday for Iniguez and his home. When officials searched Iniguez’s home, they found a few of the items purchased with the stolen credit cards. They found more of the stolen items at the home of his mother, who lives in Los Angeles.

Bill Studt, superintendent of the Oxnard Union High School District, said the incident made the district look bad, and he is glad there has been an arrest.

“We’re pleased to learn . . . Mr. Hernandez was not the culprit,” Studt said.

Studt said he never believed the board president had misused the credit card, but some of Hernandez’s fellow trustees did express some suspicion.

The school district issues credit cards to its board members, who can use them to pay for business such as lunches with school officials or hotel reservations for conferences. The card, which carries the district’s name, has a $2,500 credit limit.

The school district has not been asked to pay for any of the purchases made during the time Hernandez’s card was reported lost or stolen, Studt said.

Iniguez was arrested at the Oxnard center and taken into custody. He was held at the Ventura County Jail on $10,000 bail until late Wednesday, when bail was posted. He is scheduled for arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court today.

Hernandez said Iniguez was referred to personnel services in the Human Services Agency for possible disciplinary action.