A former employee of the City of Amarillo has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for embezzling more than $121,000 from a federal housing program. Vanessa Robinson, 35, served as a Grant Manager in Amarillo’s Community Development Department from 2013 until January 2024. In her position, she was responsible for distributing funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist homeless or near-homeless individuals with housing costs.
According to court documents, Robinson engaged in fraudulent activities over a five-year period from July 2019 to September 2024. She posed as a program recipient and arranged to live rent-free for more than two years by enlisting another former city employee as her case worker. This scheme cost the program $34,673. Robinson also created false lease agreements and used her husband’s identity to receive funds from HUD’s Emergency Services Grant. Additionally, she submitted fraudulent applications under family members’ names so they could receive assistance. The total loss caused by these actions amounted to $121,325.
Robinson pleaded guilty in March 2025 to conspiracy to embezzle from a federally funded program. On July 22, 2025, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk sentenced her to prison and ordered restitution of $121,325.21.
Another former city employee, Amy Dixon, pleaded guilty in June 2024 to a similar charge after embezzling more than $465,000 from the same HUD-funded program. Dixon received a sentence of 24 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay restitution of $465,511.65.
“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 Special 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 investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office – Amarillo Resident Agency and HUD’s Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto prosecuted the case.
