{"id":548488,"date":"2026-01-28T05:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T05:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/548488\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T05:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T05:36:10","slug":"china-grove-city-secretary-arrested-after-allegedly-defrauding-snap-medicaid-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/548488\/","title":{"rendered":"China Grove city secretary arrested after allegedly defrauding SNAP, Medicaid programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEXAR COUNTY, Texas<\/strong> \u2013 A China Grove city secretary was arrested for allegedly defrauding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid programs, according to an arrest affidavit.<\/p>\n

Melinda Sue Sauceda, 40, was arrested Tuesday by the Bexar County Sheriff\u2019s Office on charges of tampering with government records defraud\/harm, forgery and theft, jail records show.<\/p>\n

According to an affidavit, Sauceda obtained about $22,000 in SNAP and Medicaid benefits combined since 2023. Sauceda had received the benefits for her children since late 2023.<\/p>\n

Sauceda submitted five different online applications to request SNAP and Medicaid benefits. Upon reviewing the applications, investigators found a handwritten letter submitted by Sauceda saying she was unemployed, the affidavit states. <\/p>\n

Investigators said the online applications appeared to contain \u201cfictitious pay stubs and possibly incorrect marital status information,\u201d along with discrepancies in wages.<\/p>\n

Investigators obtained pay stubs from the City of China Grove and found the wages and pay stubs were inconsistent with the application. <\/p>\n

According to the affidavit, pay stubs submitted by Sauceda appeared to have different fonts and sizes, with \u201cChina Grove, Texas\u201d at the top of the documents. Her 2024 paystub showed a $26.50 rate, while her 2025 paystub showed an $18 rate.<\/p>\n

Investigators met with a coworker of Sauceda, who said that Sauceda previously solicited her to apply for SNAP benefits, \u201cand suggested that she be untruthful about her marital status to be approved for benefits,\u201d the affidavit states. The coworker said the conversation took place while they were both employed by the City of China Grove.<\/p>\n

The coworker also recalled witnessing conversations between Sauceda and another coworker where they discussed obtaining SNAP benefits and creating fraudulent documents, according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n

During an interview with investigators, \u201cSauceda confessed to utilizing the city-owned desktop and a city-owned \u2018Quick Brooks\u2019 account to create fictitious pay stubs,\u201d the affidavit states.<\/p>\n

Sauceda also told investigators her current pay rate, which did not match the submitted pay stubs. According to the affidavit, Sauceda confirmed she used the same desktop and city internet to submit her online applications.<\/p>\n

\u201cSauceda also stated that she lied on the handwritten letter submitted to (Texas Health and Human Services), saying that she was unemployed, when in fact she had been working for the City of China Grove for about a month,\u201d the affidavit states.<\/p>\n

According to the affidavit, Sauceda confirmed to investigators that she is engaged and has been with her partner for about five years. The statement was inconsistent with her application, which listed her as single with no other supporting income from a household member.<\/p>\n

Sauceda told investigators she used a fax machine at her workplace and at a UPS store in La Vernia to submit the handwritten letter and fictitious pay stubs. The affidavit states that, when asked if she knew she was doing something illegal, Sauceda replied, \u201cYes, it\u2019s government money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investigators seized Sauceda\u2019s laptop, desktop and work cellphone. According to the affidavit, when investigators took possession of her laptop bag, Sauceda appeared to remove a green notebook from inside.<\/p>\n

The affidavit states investigators reviewed the notebook and found passwords and login information, including a login for \u201cQuickBrooks.\u201d The book and laptop bag were both seized by investigators.<\/p>\n

The City of China Grove\u2019s website does not list Sauceda as city secretary as of Tuesday. KSAT has reached out to the city regarding Sauceda\u2019s employment but has not heard back.<\/p>\n

Read also:<\/b><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BEXAR COUNTY, Texas \u2013 A China Grove city secretary was arrested for allegedly defrauding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":548489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5133],"tags":[5229,7288,240972,4219,7202,7203,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-548488","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-bexar-county","10":"tag-china-grove","11":"tag-crime","12":"tag-san-antonio","13":"tag-sanantonio","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115971108618827046","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}