Stockton Unified School District Trustee AngelAnn Flores was found guilty of filing a false insurance claim but was acquitted of embezzlement and misuse of public funds charges, which her supporters say were fueled by local political vendettas.
The verdict was announced Thursday afternoon following a three-week trial.
Flores, who remains on the school board, faced three felony charges following a San Joaquin County grand jury indictment in January. Prosecutors alleged she filed an insurance claim for a car crash that occurred before her policy took effect and misused a district-issued credit card.
After the verdict was read in Department 6D of San Joaquin County Superior Court, Judge Richard Mallett dismissed the jurors and thanked them for their service but asked them to stay for a closed-door meeting with prosecution and defense attorneys.
“It’s up to you if you want to stay or not … but they have their own thoughts,” Mallett said. “These are not endless discussions. They just want a heads up on what’s going through your mind.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Donald Vaughn and San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Deputy Rocky Bulen, who worked on the case, were seen leaving the courtroom and entering the jury deliberation room shortly after the jury exited. Flores’ attorneys, Tori Verber Salazar and Natalie Bowman, followed soon after.
After several minutes, Mallett informed the court reporter for the record that all jurors had decided to stay behind to speak with the prosecution and defense. It’s unclear what was discussed.
Vaughn declined to answer questions from reporters after leaving the courthouse. Bulen also declined, telling a Record reporter he was “not authorized” to comment.
Sentencing was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 22 in Department 6D of San Joaquin County Superior Court.
Flores supporters celebrate acquittal on SUSD-related charges
Outside the courthouse, Flores’ supporters gathered to celebrate her acquittal on the two charges related to the Stockton Unified School District.
“I’m disappointed that it wasn’t three (not-guilty verdicts), but I’m happy with the way it turned out,” said Gracie Madrid, president of the Mexican Heritage Center and Gallery.
David Sengthay, a Stockton Unified alum and Fix SUSD organizer, said he believed the felony case against Flores was “a political witch hunt to make AngelAnn Flores look like she defrauded the community.”
He called the trial “a joke” and said authorities wasted taxpayer funds and “ultimately discredited one of the most influential and supportive school board members I have ever met.”
Sengthay pointed to the testimony of Xochitl Paderes, a former associate of Stockton political consultant and 209 Times founder Motecuzoma Sanchez. Paderes testified that she attended two meetings in late 2021 and early 2022 where Sanchez allegedly conspired with San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas to target Flores.
“I firmly believe that if Ron Freitas did not have Motec as a consultant, this case would have never happened to begin with,” Sengthay said. “I believe Ron Freitas is afraid of Motec Sanchez, and I think our community needs to stand up. We are tired of our elected officials being bullied around.”
Sengthay also raised concerns with the search warrant authored by Bulen and executed by the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office in November 2023, saying deputies’ collection of evidence tied to the false insurance claim charge was “completely unlawful.”
“The only reason we made it to Room 6D today is because of that unlawful warrant where they searched and seized her phones and property at her house,” Sengthay said. “That should have never happened.”
Legal team plans to appeal guilty verdict
The contents of the search warrant were scrutinized by the defense throughout the trial.
In the warrant, deputies said they were investigating several allegations against Flores, including Brown Act violations and witness intimidation. It also alleged that she conspired with Don Shalvey, then CEO of San Joaquin A+, and real estate developer Fritz Grupe to eliminate construction fees at Stockton Unified and increase the developer’s profits.
Bulen testified that all of the claims were unsubstantiated. The insurance claim was not mentioned in the search warrant.
Bowman said during the trial that Lt. Andrew Theodore of the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office contacted Flores’ car insurance company, Sentry Insurance, about the claim months after the warrant was executed.
The false insurance claim stemmed from a minor car crash involving Flores and then-coworker Randy Gaines on Oct. 15, 2022. Flores bought a six-month policy through Sentry Insurance that same day and reported the accident to the company three days later.
Even though the insurance company raised concerns about the claim’s legitimacy, Sentry Insurance paid $2,010.68 to Keona Morris, Gaines’ girlfriend at the time and the vehicle’s owner.
Sentry Insurance’s special investigator, Andrew White, later looked into the claim and forwarded his case file to the California Department of Insurance and the National Insurance Crime Bureau. However, Bowman said both agencies declined to pursue the case.
“If it were significant enough, there should have been a referral to the county DA here. There was none,” Bowman said. “The only reason the insurance case ever came up was because of the search warrant that was executed on an unbelievable claim.”
Flores’ defense team said they plan to appeal the guilty verdict but respect the jury’s decision. They also plan to meet with the state attorney general and pursue civil action against 209 Times for knowingly making false crime reports about their client.
Defense attorney blasts trial as ‘waste of resources’
As she exited the courthouse, Verber Salazar said the defense always knew Flores “never took a penny from SUSD,” and the jury validated that.
When she spoke with jurors after the verdict was read, Verber Salazar said some questioned why Flores faced charges of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds in the first place. She said it took the jurors one minute Wednesday to vote not guilty on the district-related charges.
Verber Salazar noted several concerns about the district attorney’s use of public funds, including the decision to have four paralegals sit behind Vaughn throughout the trial for what Verber Salazar said was “a paper case.”
Verber Salazar told reporters the trial was “a tremendous waste of resources, time and money.” She estimated the total cost of the trial at between $500,000 and $1 million.
“The DA would never dismiss those charges even though they knew there was no evidence there,” Verber Salazar said. “They made her go to jury trial and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of the government’s money.”
In a written statement, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s office praised the verdict on the false insurance claim charge but did not mention the verdicts on the embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds charges.
“This conviction sends a clear message that fraud will not be tolerated, and that justice will be pursued,” DA officials said. “The office is committed to ensuring that our elected leaders are held accountable.”
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
