Houston residents Leopoldo Perrault Benitez, 53, Anthony Benitez, 32, Isaac Sierra, 51, and Jose Angel Muniz, 51, La Porte, made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray, at which time the indictment was unsealed. They were ordered into custody pending further criminal proceedings.

Danielle Hurts, the only City of Houston employee ordered to pay restitution in the water line criminal corruption case, is asking for help. She’s seeking donations through a GoFundMe account. Hurts is one of 7 people indicted in the corruption scandal first uncovered in the KPRC 2 ‘DRAINED’ Investigation.

Joseph Nerie had his bribery and tampering with government document felony charges dismissed after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of offering a gift to a public servant.

Prosecutors say Mohamad Mokbel made over $200 million through a kickback scheme with his company 4M Pharmaceuticals, which involved money laundering and bribery from 2014 through 2021,

Prosecutors say Gwendolyn Gibbs, 72, the owner of Daybreak Rehabilitation Center, submitted fake claims to Medicare from 2007 until 2016 by pretending her patients were sicker than they really were.

Federal court documents revealed one of those businesses is Melodrama Boutique, which is owned by Juquita “Jackie” Adams.

City of Houston leaders are calling for an outside investigation into the actions of a now former city director, William Paul Thomas, after KPRC 2 Investigates uncovered emails showing negotiations in favor of a private businessman.

A former West Texas police chief has been sentenced to 15 1/2 years in prison for bribery.

The former chief operating officer and a contract vendor with the Houston Independent School District have been both been indicted for conspiring in a bribery scheme, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Two of the businessmen included Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino (Gonzalez), a dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen, and Tulio Anibal Farias Perez (Farias), a Venezuelan national and Houston resident. De Jongh admitted to directing bribe payments from Gonzalez and Farias and others into bank accounts in the names of shell companies he controlled in Panama and Switzerland. De Jongh laundered the bribe proceeds through U.S. and international bank accounts and used the funds to purchase real property located in the Houston area. De Jongh pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. As part of his plea, De Jongh also agreed to forfeit over $3 million seized from his bank accounts and 15 properties he purchased with his corrupt proceeds.

Berlin-based Transparency International said only four of 47 countries — the U.S., U.K., Switzerland and Israel, making up 16.5% of global exports — were actively enforcing legislation against foreign bribery in 2019. That's down from seven countries, making up 27% of exports, that were conducting active enforcement in 2018. “Our research shows that many countries are barely investigating foreign bribery,” said Gillian Dell, the lead author of the Transparency report. Germany, the world's third-largest exporter and also signatory to the convention, only conducts “moderate enforcement,” as do other major exporters like France, Italy and Spain. “G-20 countries and other major economies have a responsibility to enforce the rules.”Transparency's recommendations include ending secrecy in ownership of companies, which makes investigating foreign bribery difficult, and exploring increased liability of parent companies for the actions of their foreign subsidiaries.

The brief letter, dated Oct. 1, says the officials notified law enforcement of a potential crime on Sept. 30, but does not provide detailed accusations. The officials also say they notified Paxton himself of the accusation via text message on Oct. 1. “Your work, your sacrifice, and your dedication to this office inspire us all.”Meanwhile, top Texas Republicans reacted cautiously to the allegations against Paxton. In 2014, the Texas State Securities Board fined Paxton $1,000 for soliciting investment clients without being registered, and he signed a disciplinary order without disputing its findings. “Ken Paxton is the top law enforcement official in the state,” Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement Saturday.

HOUSTON – A thread of emails dating back to 2017 between Mayor Sylvester Turner’s inner circle and local businessman Jason Yoo, is raising questions about bribery. In the email, Yoo asked for City Hall and Turner to help him land and close a private real estate deal involving BP headquarters on the city’s Westside for $348 million. They put this in an email,” Wynne said. In fact, after Thomas wrote that the Mayor would meet with Yoo, Thomas sent the thread of internal city emails to Yoo, writing, "I’m on this! (KPRC)Ultimately, in a separate email, Turner informed his assistant that he would not meet with Yoo after all.