Former and current board members of Cameron County Drainage District #3 were paid $300,000 in excess pay since 2000 after falsifying records, according to arrest records obtained by Channel 5 News.

Board President Ronaldo Garcia, former board member Randall McMurray and former general manager Sonia Lambert were arrested on charges of misapplication of fiduciary property.

On September 19, 2025, current Cameron County Drainage District #3 General Manager Carla Marin-Toriz and attorney Buddy Dorssett filed a financial criminal complaint at the Texas Department of Public Safety office in Brownsville.

The complaint said Garcia, McMurray and two other elected board members received approximately $300,000 combined total in payments for services since 2000, and Lambert knowingly approved and paid the money in district funds, which exceeds the legal limitations of the Texas Water Code.

Garcia has been board president for 25 years, and McMurray was a board member for 20 years until he resigned in December 2021.

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Lambert retired from her general management position in 2023; her retirement is what led to the discovery of the misapplication of funds, records state.

The criminal complaint said before 2023, the Texas Water Code mandated board members could receive payments only for services limited to $150 per day, $600 per month, or $7,200 per year. Payments for each service required documentation of services provided by the board members.

In 2023, legislative change allowed board members to receive payment for services limited to $221 per day of service, and documentation requirements remained the same.

Marin-Toriz and Dossett claimed board members were consistently receiving $600 a month and the district holds only one monthly meeting on average.

The complaint claimed falsified government documents were signed by the accused board members indicating they attended more meetings per month than what were actually held. A review of documents and meeting dates showed board members signing attendance sheets for meetings that never took place.

Marin-Toriz brought up the issue to Garcia, who responded, "they don't have intent on me," and ordered Marin-Toriz to continue the $600 monthly payments.

Both Dossett and Marin-Toriz advised Garcia that it was unlawful for board members to exceed the amount of director fees set by the Texas Water Code.

According to the complaint, Dossett described the falsified government records as a "catch me if you can" scheme.

Investigators interviewed Garcia, who indicated Lambert was the one who decided to pay board members above the lawful amount, according to the complaint.

Garcia claimed he never read or understood the attendance verification forms, and he "just signed the document because someone put it in front of him."

During Lambert's interview, she claimed board members received $600 a month for meetings they attended and for replacement pay for declined health insurance premiums.

Lambert also claimed she instructed the drainage district's payroll secretary to include only the date of the board meeting on the verifying statements.

Investigators spoke with the secretary, who said Lambert instructed all the secretaries to file two verifying statements per month, regardless of whether meetings were held.

The secretary said Lambert instructed her to pay each board member $600 for four hours in payroll and while she only prepared the payments, Lambert was the one who approved and signed the checks, according to the complaint.

After reviewing all documentation, investigators noted Garcia received $108,000 in excess of lawful amounts since 2000 and McMurray received $87,000.

All three suspects were arrested last month. Cameron  County jail records indicated all three suspects are no longer in custody.