A former Amarillo city employee was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for embezzling more than $121,000 from a federal program that provided housing for homeless individuals, announced Acting United States Attorney Nancy E. Larson.
Vanessa Robinson, 35, was a Grant Manager for the City of Amarillo from 2013 to January 2024 in Amarillo’s Community Development Department. In this role, she was responsible for distributing funds supplied by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help homeless or near-homeless citizens in Amarillo, Texas with housing costs. This program paid market-rate rents to landlords willing to house those who needed assistance. Robinson communicated with Amarillo property owners who were willing to lease their properties through the program, assisted in completing lease agreements, coordinated physical inspections of their properties, and assembled payment voucher packages.
Court documents reflect that for approximately five years, from July 2019 to September 2024, Robinson embezzled from the program by various means. She posed as a program recipient and took steps to live rent-free for more than two years, including enlisting a co-conspirator—another former employee who participated in a similar scheme—to act as Robinson’s case worker and communicate with Robinson’s landlord. The twenty-five months of Robinson’s rent-free living cost the program $34,673. Robinson admitted that she also created fraudulent lease agreements and a fictitious landlord, using her husband’s identity, to receive funds from HUD’s Emergency Services Grant. Additionally, she filled out fraudulent applications in family members’ names to enable them to receive housing assistance. In total, Robinson caused the program to spend $121,325 on Robinson’s fraudulent applications, leases, and vouchers.
In March 2025, Robinson pled guilty to an information charging her with conspiracy to embezzle from a federally-funded program. On July 22, 2025, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk sentenced Robinson to 18 months in federal prison and ordered her to pay restitution of $121,325.21 to the City of Amarillo.
Separately, former City of Amarillo employee Amy Dixon pled guilty to a similar conspiracy charge in June 2024 for embezzling more than $465,000 from the same HUD-funded program. Dixon was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in October 2024 and ordered to pay restitution of $465,511.65 to the City of Amarillo.
“These defendants abused trusted positions within the City of Amarillo to steal from federal funding intended for residents experiencing significant financial hardship and homelessness,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson. “This breach of the public trust will not be tolerated, and we are proud of our law enforcement partners’ work in seeing justice done in this case.”
“The defendants in this case embezzled funds from a program meant to help disadvantaged residents in their area. They abused their positions as city employees for personal gain at the expense of their community,” said FBI Dallas Specia Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock. “The FBI would like to thank HUD-OIG for partnering with us to hold these individuals accountable for defrauding a federal program funded by taxpayer dollars.”
“This sentencing demonstrates our continued commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars and holding individuals accountable for the misuse of federal funds,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Lawler with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG). “HUD OIG will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to pursue those who exploit public trust for personal gain.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office – Amarillo Resident Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development – Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto prosecuted the case.