Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Angela Aurora Rodriguez, 46, is charged with misusing Utah State University funds.
- She allegedly made over $5,200 in unauthorized purchases and $20,000 in false mileage reimbursements.
- Rodriguez was fired April 1, 2024, and has not reimbursed the school, prosecutors said.
BLANDING — A New Mexico woman who was employed by Utah State University is facing charges accusing her of using school money for personal travels.
Angela Aurora Rodriguez, 46, of Carlsbad, New Mexico, was charged Tuesday in 7th District Court with theft by deception, misusing public money and communications fraud, all second-degree felonies.
In 2023, Rodriguez was working as a recruiter for the USU-Blanding campus in southern Utah while she lived in New Mexico.
"Rodriguez was employed to visit high schools to recruit potential USU students. USU assigned Rodriguez to recruit students from New Mexico," according to charging documents.
Rodriguez was issued a P-card, or a school credit card for making work-related purchases, and she was reimbursed for mileage and hotel reservations.
But prosecutors say in January 2024, she "used her university issued P-card to purchase an Apple computer," even though "USU had already issued Rodriguez a computer to use for her employment," the charges allege.
Between Jan. 15, 2024, and Jan. 23, 2024, Rodriguez additionally "used her P-card to purchase airplane tickets, parking, and other personal travel expenses for an eight-day trip to Illinois," the charges state. Furthermore, she is accused of using the card "to pay for a hotel room only 25 miles from her residence, which was contrary to USU's protocol.
"Additionally, on more than one occasion, Rodriguez used the P-card to pay for a hotel room in one part of New Mexico when other records indicated she was visiting schools in an entirely different part of New Mexico." the charges say.
Prosecutors say Rodriguez made more than $5,200 worth of unauthorized purchased on her card, and received nearly $20,000 for mileage reimbursement "that was determined to be illegitimate."
"Rodriguez submitted mileage reimbursements for travel outside of her assigned recruiting area, for travel during nonschool hours as well as schools that were not visited. There were multiple discrepancies between the locations of P-card purchases and Rodriguez's reported travel location and miles traveled," the charges state.
Some of the administrators at the high schools Rodriguez claimed to have visited told investigators "they did not know who she was, had not met her, and that their school had not hosted USU recruiters in years," according to the charges.
Rodriguez was fired from USU on April 1, 2024. Prosecutors say she has yet to reimburse the school despite alleged promises to do so.
