STOCKTON, Calif. — Stockton Unified School District Trustee AngelAnn Flores is back home after San Joaquin County Sheriff's deputies arrested her Friday afternoon on four felony charges related to her alleged use of a district-issued credit card.
Her lawyer, former District Attorney Tori Verber-Salazar, says Flores bailed out of jail following the arrest which happened during a traffic stop near West Lane and Alpine Avenue in Stockton.
The arrest marked the first one since the FBI and San Joaquin County District Attorney's and Sheriff's offices launched an investigation into the city's largest school district last April.
The formal investigation was launched a year ago, but suspicions had been brewing for several years.
In 2021, the county's grand jury released a scathing report alleging a lack of transparency, trustees disregarding their roles and widespread disregard of policies.
A year later, in June of 2022, another scathing report was released painting the district as one teeming with poor business practices, a lack of transparency and headed toward a multi-million dollar budget shortfall.
Then in February of 2023, the state's Financial Crisis and Management Assistance Team released its audit filled with revelations and allegations of fraud, misappropriation of funds and illegal practices.
Among the findings was an alleged conflict of interest when the district's board approved buying nearly $7 million worth of air filters in 2021, from a company that a now-former trustee endorsed and had allegedly met with.
Months later, that company was no longer registered to do business in California and an ABC10 report found that hundreds of the air filters were never installed. Flores was the only trustee to vote against the purchase and spoke out about the suspected fraud.
"She was the leader on this. She was the whistleblower," said Verber-Salazar. "She was working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to get this information to them, to get them to come in and do a thorough investigation and rid us of the corruption."
The charges that Flores now faces stem from her alleged usage of a school district-issued credit card. Sheriff's deputies say she used it to buy more than $950 worth of food and fuel for personal gain. Deputies also allege she filed a false insurance claim for a non-school-district-related crash.
Verber Salazar calls the arrest political, coming just months before an election.
"The level of investigation that they did to some board members versus what they did to AngelAnn is night and day," said Verber-Salazar. "None of their homes were raided. None of their computers or telephones were taken from them."
The district attorney and sheriff's offices say their investigation is ongoing.
The sheriff's office wasn't available for an interview Sunday, and in a statement confirming the four felony charges, the district attorney's office said it had no further comment.
"She's traumatized," said Verber-Salazar of her client since being released. "Everybody should find it chilling, the amount of abuse of power that has occurred."
Despite the ongoing investigation, and now ongoing litigation, current Superintendent Dr. Michelle Rodriguez said in a news conference Friday that the focus for her remains on the students.
"My focus is on students, on their education and ensuring that we are using public funds appropriately," said Rodriguez. "The entire Board of Trustees did relinquish their credit cards on September 14, 2023. Two months into my tenure on my request."
The current school board president Kennetha Stevens reiterated that message in a statement to ABC10.
"As Board President, I can confirm the SUSD School Board's commitment remains focused on education and moving the district forward," the statement said. "Despite the events regarding trustee Flores, we will continue to do our part to remain transparent and keep students at the forefront."
The next school board meeting is set to take place Tuesday evening. Through her attorney, Flores says she will be in attendance.
Watch more from ABC10: Stockton Unified investigation launched by San Joaquin County DA
