Former Chula Vista City Councilmember Andrea Cardenas was sentenced to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service Wednesday for stealing a federal small business loan and state unemployment benefits during the pandemic.
Cardenas and her brother, political consultant Jesus Cardenas, pleaded guilty in February to two charges of grand theft for fraudulently obtaining over $200,000 from state and federal taxpayers.
Prosecutors said they used the money to pay off credit card bills and make contributions to the councilmember’s campaign bank account.
Cardenas will serve just one day in the custody of the San Diego County Sheriff. She and her brother will both be required to pay back all of the funds they stole: $176,227 to the federal Small Business Administration and $28,908 to the state Employment Development Department.
Today’s sentence, issued by San Diego Superior Court Judge Rachel Cano, is likely the final word on the saga that has rocked Chula Vista since early last year.
In the spring of 2023, La Prensa first reported that Cardenas and her brother had obtained the federal pandemic loan through their political consulting firm, Grassroots Resources Inc. Prosecutors filed charges later that year.
Despite the charges, Cardenas refused to step down for several months, filing to run for reelection and maintaining that she deserved a chance to argue her innocence in court.
She changed her mind and resigned in February, just weeks before the local primary election, and pleaded guilty to the felony theft charges.
In court Wednesday, Cardenas’ attorney Pedro Bernal said that the former councilmember was a young politician who had overcome numerous challenges in her path to the City Council, including temporary homelessness. Bernal argued that Cardenas’ brother was largely responsible for their crimes.
“She accepted responsibility for what she did,” he told the judge. “That takes great courage.”
Bernal said resigning in disgrace, facing public scrutiny and agreeing to pay back the stolen funds was a fair punishment.
County prosecutors, meanwhile, had sought a more severe sentence, including over six months of jail time.
San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Chandelle Boyce agreed that Jesus Cardenas had played a greater role in their crimes but said Andrea Cardenas was also well aware of what they were doing.
As an elected official, Boyce said, Cardenas’ crimes held serious weight and would increase public distrust in local government.
“She is not a child,” Boyce said. “She is an intelligent person.”
Cardenas, herself, took the stand to apologize to her community and her family.
“There’s no justification, no excuse for the mistakes that I’ve made,” she said. “The constituents that placed their trust in me, I failed, and I am sorry.”
Looking Ahead
In November, Chula Vista voters will choose a new city councilmember to represent District 4 in the southwest corner of the city.
There are two candidates vying for the seat: Chula Vista Elementary School District board member Cesar Fernandez and former-City Councilmember Rudy Ramirez.
The seat is currently held by Rachel Morineau, a former program director at the nonprofit SBCS. The City Council appointed Morineau in May to serve out the remaining eight months of Cardenas’ term.
The winner of the November election will represent District 4 for another four years.
