EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso man believes the state of Texas is biased against fathers after a state investigation found his ex-wife submitted fraudulent documents to get state-issued health benefits for their daughter, even though he’s already paying for her coverage through child support. His ex-wife has not been prosecuted, and she is still allegedly using the taxpayer health care for her daughter, and an Office of the Attorney General representative allegedly told him “it’s too much energy” to pursue. De La Cruz contacted KFOX14 in August to share his story, and reporter Bill Melugin has worked on the story for the past month. De La Cruz and his ex-wife Tonya Rodarte split up after about a year and a half of marriage, and have shared custody of their two daughters ever since. As part of the divorce, De La Cruz makes biweekly court-mandated payments of $332 for child support and $127 for health care under a private BlueCross/BlueShield plan. De La Cruz told KFOX14 that three years ago, he found out Rodarte wasn’t using the private insurance he was paying for. Instead, he said she had been using taxpayer-funded El Paso CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). “I found out she had been frauding the state by using invalid documents, a birth certificate, and also a Social Security card to qualify for benefits she’s not eligible for,” De La Cruz said. “She was receiving benefits and not reporting that she had an additional insurance, the current insurance that I am paying to this day.” De La Cruz gathered documents to prove his allegations, and filed a complaint with the Office of the Inspector General. An OIG investigator flew out from Austin to meet with De La Cruz, and conducted a three-month investigation that ended in June 2014. KFOX14 obtained the final OIG report, which says all of De La Cruz’s allegations were true. According to the report, the OIG found that “an invalid Texas birth certificate and Social Security card were used by Rodarte when she applied for state benefits for her daughter.” The report also states that the OIG received a statement from Rodarte, “stating she had knowledge her daughter’s legal name was De La Cruz and not Rodarte, and she acknowledged she presented an invalid birth certificate to apply for state benefits. The OIG report also found that Rodarte had registered her daughter in school under her real last name, but had continued to use a false birth certificate to apply for state benefits. They found my claims to be true, the documentation that I worked so hard to get, countless hours and days, it was very useful, it came to play in their decision,” De La Cruz said. But any hope De La Cruz had of action being taken against Rodarte came crashing down when he read the last line of the OIG report. It said, “The case was staffed with Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Vanderbosch, El Paso District Attorney’s Office, who declined to prosecute the case for False Records or Tampering with a Governmental Record.” Its a very unfair and very broken system. Its a very gender biased situation, Ive gone to great lengths to do the right thing, I reported it, I contacted the right people as I thought I was doing and nothing happened,” De La Cruz said. De La Cruz said he repeatedly contacted the Office of the Inspector General and the DA’s office to find out why the case wasn’t prosecuted, but was always given the runaround. KFOX14 met with El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza two weeks ago and asked the same question. We actually never received the case to make a decision on whether to accept or decline the case,” Esparza said. “We do have a record of them calling and asking us questions and probably we provided some advice, but at no point in time have we had the opportunity to fully review the case.” Something wasn’t adding up, so KFOX14 emailed Inspector General investigator Jaime Reyes, who had been working on De La Cruz’s case, and asked why the El Paso DA said they have no record of receiving the case. Reyes never replied, but just days later, De La Cruz received a voicemail from a Mr. Robert Esparza, who identified himself as a manager with the Office of the Inspector General. “Mr. De La Cruz, I just want to let you know I had another investigator deliver a copy of the case on Tonya Rodarte for them to review for prosecution,” he said in the voicemail. “We delivered it a while back, they’re saying we didn’t, but we sent it again today.” That same day, an official with the El Paso DA’s office confirmed to KFOX14 that they did receive they case that day. The Inspector General report about Rodarte has been out for several months, but even with the findings of fraud, De La Cruz provided KFOX14 with documents he said prove she is still receiving the state benefits to this day. “It’s a shame that we have here someone who has admitted that basically they’re rigging and taking these benefits when they’re not eligible for them,” De La Cruz said. “Taxpayers are paying for these state funds that are being misused.” El Paso CHIP supervisors Edgar Martinez and Juanita Ramirez didn’t return any of KFOX14’s phone calls asking why Rodarte is still being allowed to use the benefits. De La Cruz said he has repeatedly told both supervisors about Rodarte’s alleged fraud and her secondary insurance she has failed to report, but has gotten nowhere. He provided KFOX14 with the recording of a phone conversation he says took place between himself and Supervisor Ramirez on Sept. 17 when he was trying to confirm Rodarte was still using the CHIP benefits. “You have all the information you need Mr. De La Cruz, nothing has changed,” the woman on the phone says. “Hold on ma’am, I’m confirming with you, so today as of Sept. 17, 2014 –“ De La Cruz says, but is then cut off by the woman. “That is all I can disclose to you Mr. De La Cruz, you have a good day,” she says. The woman then hangs up the phone. KFOX14 contacted Rodarte multiple times. Melugin contacted her at her work, where he was hung up on. He also called her personal cellphone multiple times, and left a text message explaining the story KFOX14 was working on, but after more than a week, Rodarte never replied. De La Cruz provided KFOX14 a text message he received from his daughter after he asked her if “mom had said anything else about KFOX?” The text said, “No, just that she does not know why they are trying to talk to her, and that she blames you. There are three questions De La Cruz wants answered. Why is Rodarte still allowed to be on the state benefits? Why hasn’t she been prosecuted? Why is he still being forced to pay for a private insurance he says Rodarte has never used or reported? “I’ve gone to El Paso CHIP, I’ve gone to the Office of the Attorney General, I’ve gone to the Domestic Relations Office, I’ve gone to congressmen, senators, I’ve written emails, I’ve done everything,” De La Cruz said. “Everyone tells me there’s nothing they can do.” De La Cruz also provided KFOX14 a shocking recording of an in person conversation he says is between himself and a representative from the Office of the Attorney General. “Just give me some guidance on what I should do, what do you recommend with what I’ve presented to you?” De La Cruz asks. “Honestly, I think it’s too much energy,” the woman replies. “And I’m being honest. I know what you’re trying to do, and I would probably be pursuing the same thing.” De La Cruz believes Rodarte Continues to use the invalid last name to this day so he can’t have access to his daughter’s medical records. He provided KFOX14 with documents showing she uses her daughter’s real last name of De La Cruz for school, but still uses the fraudulent last name of Rodarte for doctor’s appointments. He said he’s exhausted all options to have something done about the situation, and he hopes that someone – anyone - will listen to a dad looking for some answers. “I’m following what I’m supposed to do, I’m court ordered to supply medical insurance for my daughters, and I’ve done that,” De La Cruz said. “It’s just frustrating, because as a father, nobody helps us out, nobody.” De La Cruz said the El Paso DA’s office has requested to meet with him Thursday morning. kfoxtv/news/features/top-stories/stories/man-claims-exwife-continues-receive-taxpayer-benefits-after-state-investigation-revealed-fraud-6617.shtml#.VCOmfIm9LCR
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 05:27:56 +0000
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