CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On Wednesday we got confirmation more police reports have been filed against 361 Grants.
If you’ve been following along, 361 Grants a business that has been asking for $150 from people to apply for a home renovation grant up to $10,000 or $30,000. Many became suspicious of the operation after not hearing about anyone receiving the grant and the phony award letters that had been sent out.
We reported that 15 complaints have already been filed with the Robstown Police Department (RPD). Now we know that the Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) has also received complaints against 361 Grants and it's operator Daniel Esparza A.K.A Daniel Saenz.
Five new reports have recently been filed with RPD, bringing their total to 20.
Three reports have been filed with CCPD in the last week or so.
We've kept in touch with a few people who have applied for a 361 Grant and they all have not received a refund as Esparza has promised them repeatedly.
According to Detective Chris Soliz at RPD, the Nueces County District Attorney’s Office is asking for the reports and he intends to hand them over soon.
Esparza had several people working for him in different cities and know Robstown and Mathis are two of them. We previously spoke to the attorney of Velma Hernandez, the woman accused of accepting application fees on behalf of Esparza, in Robstown.
Soliz added that because alleged victims actually paid Esparza’s employees who then gave Esparza the money, those employees could also be charged with a crime if the DA's office chooses to do so.
Soliz said he was once in contact with Esparza, but Esparza quickly cut off communication and stopped cooperating with the investigation.
Again, we tried contacting Esparza at the phone number he provided to us in January, but he hasn't answered.
If you see something that is too good to be true, like paying $150 for a $10,000 grant, it probably is too good to be true.
If you feel like you’ve been a victim of 361 Grants you can always file a report with your local police department.
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