Amy Martinez
Two people were arrested on Monday in an alleged scheme of embezzling Jourdanton Volunteer Fire Department funds, investigated by the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office for over a week.
Jourdanton Volunteer Fire Department treasurer Amy Martinez, 43, was arrested and charged with theft over $30,000 and under $150,000 by a public servant after investigators found that thousands of dollars were missing.
According to Sheriff David Soward, JVFD filed a report regarding missing funds when Sergeant Investigator T. Chia conducted the investigation on March 8 and was able to document over $45,000 missing from the fire department’s bank accounts.
In the investigation, it was found that Martinez allegedly signed unauthorized checks in various amounts ranging from $300 to $6,000 from January 2020 to February 29, 2024.
According to Soward, investigators found that the checks were primarily made to her son and other family members who allegedly cashed them and made payments to an attorney. Soward said several of the checks were made out to Martinez and to “cash”.
Dylan Ryan Luna
Jourdanton VFD Chief Jay Fojtik said Martinez resigned the treasurer’s position after she was released on a $75,000 bond.
Also arrested was Dylan Ryan Luna, 21, and charged with theft over $30,000 and under $150,000 by a public servant. Investigators said that Luna allegedly solicited Martinez to write checks on the fire department accounts for his benefit. Luna was also released on a $75,000 bond.
“We are changing our processes internally for auditing in the future,” Fojtik said. “We raise a lot of funds to help the department, so something like this is a big slap in our face.”
Soward said the investigation continues as investigators may file additional charges on individuals who benefited from the stolen funds.
Records provided by the fire department indicate $34,232.34 being taken from the JVFD general fund and $11,000 from their funds contributed to JVFD from Atascosa County.
Jourdanton Police assisted in the investigation.
