https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/former-taney-county-official-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-259000/

A former Taney County Health Department official has pleaded guilty to a scheme to embezzle money from the department.

According to the Department of Justice, Hugo Ricardo Huacuz, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, two counts of stealing federal funds, one count of money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Huacuz was the chief operating officer and chief financial officer for the Taney County Health Department until he resigned on Nov. 14, 2023.

From Mar. 23, 2022, to Nov. 14, 2023, Huacuz wrote checks to Argon Investments, LLC, a company organized by him and his wife. Huacuz forged the signatures of health department employees and caused the department to issue 15 checks totaling $259,000.

Huacuz told the department’s board the checks were being issued to Argon to pay for items from Sansofi Pasteur, Inc., a multinational pharmaceutical company. He created false invoices from Sansofi Pasteur.

In November 2023, the director of the Taney County Health Department looked into Huacuz’s job performance, in which he was frequently absent, and placed him on administrative leave. Huacuz went to the bank afterward and withdrew more than $24,000 from the Argon bank account, leaving a balance of $100 in the account.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Huacuz agrees that he embezzled at least $258,976 and, at the very least, this amount is subject to forfeiture and restitution. The government will recommend a sentence of no more than four years and six months in federal prison without parole while Huacuz will seek a sentence of three years in federal prison without parole.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.