A former Dallas police corporal who headed Dallas Crime Stoppers and was initially accused of pocketing cash rewards intended for crime tipsters pleaded guilty Thursday to federal wire fraud and tax charges, the U.S. attorney's office reported.
Theodora Ross, 52, of Rowlett did not report almost $175,000 in income and did not pay nearly $38,000 in taxes, federal prosecutors said.Ross was indicted in January 2011 on charges of conspiring to collect at least $250,000 in reward money. She accepted a plea bargain in which she pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and willfully attempting to evade assessment of income taxes.Dallas Crime Stoppers is funded by the North Texas Crime Commission, which gets the money from fines levied by Dallas and Colllin county courts, private donations and fundraisers.Crime Stoppers is a nationwide program that offers cash rewards for information about crimes from callers who can remain anonymous. Callers who are approved for rewards collect the money from JP Morgan Chase bank using a system of numbers and code words.At the time, Dallas Crime Stoppers was staffed by Dallas police officers and Dallas County sheriff's deputies. Ross was assigned to the office from 2003 to May 2010, and headed the office from March 2006 to May 2010, according to the news release from the U.S. attorney's office.She worked with co-defendant Malva R. Delley, 38, of Dallas, to create bogus tips and collect cash rewards from February 2005 to May 2010.The news release states: "Ross determined which tips would be presented to the [commission] for cash reward approval and prepared the list of Crime Stoppers cash rewards that were to be paid each month and sent the lists to JP Morgan Chase Bank. These lists contained both bogus tips that Ross had created as part of the scheme and legitimate cash reward tip numbers and code words."Ross gave the bogus tip information to Delley who collected the cash from the bank. Delley and Ross divided the money."On many occasions, Delley would deposit Ross' share directly into Ross' bank account," the news release stated.Ross faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge and five years in prison and a $100,000 fine on the income tax evasion charge.She remains free on bail. Sentencing is set for Dec. 3.Delley pleaded guilty on May 17 to conspiracy to make a false statement to a financial institution. She is free on bail, with sentencing scheduled for Sept. 24. Delley faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.This report includes material from Star-Telegram archives.Domingo Ramirez Jr.,817-390-7763Twitter: @mingoramirezjrHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
