Houston woman charged with wire fraud

A Houston woman was arrested Friday and charged with eight counts of wire fraud after defrauding a Sugar Land mission out of more than $1 million designated for schools in Mexico and Colombia, according to an FBI investigation.

Court documents show that a grand jury returned an indictment against Rosina K. Blanco, 38, on June 29.

The indictment was unsealed upon her arrest by federal authorities Friday.

Blanco was arrested in connection with the submission of falsified funds requests to an investment adviser for the Basilian Fathers Missions of the Catholic Church, said Acting United States Attorney Abe Martinez.

The indictment alleges that on Aug. 31, 2015, Blanco was hired to be the bookkeeper for BFM.

According to federal prosecutors, she then executed more than $1 million in unauthorized transfers from BFM accounts to accounts in her name.

Blanco allegedly used the majority of these funds for personal expenses such as jewelry, furniture, luxury cars, real estate, Louis Vuitton handbags, goods and services for her dog and other luxury items.

Blanco accomplished the theft by using a computer to transmit fraudulent and falsified funds transfer requests from her home to the BFM investment manager in St. Louis who then unwittingly transferred more than $1 million in BFM funds, according to the charges.

From September 2015 to October, Blanco facilitated the transfer of approximately $1,107,425 from BFM accounts to her personal accounts without authorization, according to the indictment.

BFM is headquartered in Sugar Land and raises money in North America to support schools in Mexico and Colombia. It reports to the Congregation of St. Basil, an order of Catholic priests headquartered in Toronto.