First, let’s clear up a major misconception. The County was hacked — a fact that was conveniently never discussed. The phishing incident was an unsuccessful fraud attempt: NO County money was lost, and no funds ever left the banking system. Not a single dollar, certainly not a million.
Let’s talk about the sophisicated phishing scam
Many false statements have been made by certain Board members for their own personal political gain. ZERO dollars were lost by the county!
Correcting the Record
ZERO Dollars were stolen in the Sophisticated Phishing Scheme
The hacking was possible because of a breakdown in the County’s cybersecurity that left the Resource Management Agency (RMA) vulnerable. County Information Technology (IT) later confirmed to me that they were aware of this bad actor’s activity on the County network well before the attempted fraud, yet neither the Resource Management Agency nor the Auditor’s Office was informed.
San Benito County deserves leaders who understand the numbers and tell the truth. I’ll continue doing the work — not playing politics.
The office of the Auditor Controller caught the Library fraud and reported it to, Ray Espinoza, the County Administrative Officer (CAO) and Board of Supervisors made up of Kollin Kosmicki, Bea Gonzales, Peter Hernandez and Angelo Curo.
Instead of holding the department head accountable for the mismanagement of the department, certain Board members focused their energies on shifting the blame to the office that discovered and reported the fraud!
Let’s talk about the Library Fraud
Many false statements have been made by certain Board members for their own personal political gain.
More Wastefull BOS Spending
The Board of Supervisors awarded the Department Head with Full Retirement Benfits against the Auditor's Advice
Library Embezzlement FACTS
An internal review found that the former Librarian failed in her fiduciary duties, approving invoices and purchases that later proved fraudulent.
It was the Auditor‑Controller’s Office that uncovered the scheme and alerted law enforcement, leading to charges against employees involved.
Despite the fraud occurring under her supervision, the department head was not charged and instead received a public “Certificate of Recognition” upon her departure.
Yet the Auditor and his department are now being blamed for the Library embezzlement by two sitting Supervisors, despite being the ones who caught it.
