Francisco Dominguez, a former Gilroy Unified School District trustee who is charged with two counts of felony grand theft after he allegedly embezzled more than $52,000 from a leading South County social services agency, will appear in court at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Dept. 23 of the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
The appearance is a plea hearing. Dominguez will also identify whether his counsel is a public defender, alternate defender or a paid attorney.
Dominguez turned himself in after he was charged in late October by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. He is out on $20,000 bail, according to the DA’s Office.
The 51-year-old Gilroy resident and sole proprietor of DZ Consulting is accused of defrauding a local charitable organization known as the South County Collaborative, as well as an international engineering firm out of “tens of thousands of dollars” in his role as a hired consultant with a firm contracted to perform outreach for the California High Speed Rail Authority, according to a DA press release.
If convicted, Dominguez – who officially resigned from the Board of Education Nov. 9, 2011 after allegations came to light – could face more than three years in jail.
The DA’s office launched an investigation in early June 2011 following reports by the Gilroy Dispatch, which in May 2011 broke the news that Dominguez had come under fire for “systematic” embezzlement.
