(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A former DC Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Agriculture was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Friday for perpetrating an $880,000 fraud on the COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program.
The defendant, Wendy Nicole Villatoro, 40, formerly of Washington, D.C., pleaded for leniency leading up to Friday’s sentencing—asking a judge for house arrest.
UPDATE: The thieving ex-Homeland Security was sentenced on Friday to 15 months in prison for her roughly $800k PPP scam.
The DOJ also submitted a list of items she purchased w/ her ill-gotten gains, which he must forfeit. Lots of Gucci, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton here: https://t.co/EQnwUtrTtj pic.twitter.com/rJsE67uHQc
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) March 3, 2025
“Wendy suffered chronic parental neglect throughout her childhood. Even though her basic material needs were met, to put it simply—she was not parented,” her sentencing memorandum said last Tuesday.
The Justice Department, for its part, sought a 27-month sentence for Villatoro.
“What makes this crime particularly egregious is not only the nature of the offense, but the position the defendant held within society,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memo filed last Thursday.
“The defendant was a D.C. public official who was appointed by the D.C. Mayor in 2021 to be a commissioner on the Homeland Security Commission. This Commission was established in 2006 to evaluate the city’s security and to make it safer for its citizens,” they said.
“Given that the defendant worked in the public sector for over 10 years, she must, at some point, believed in the government’s fundamental mission—to serve the public. Yet, somewhere along the way, she decided to defraud her employer out of nearly $850,000, despite making $117,962 annually.”
The court docket does not explain the presiding judge’s reasons for the 15-month sentence. The judge also ordered Villatoro to repay the $844,415.24 she stole, along with another $100 for a “special assessment.” Also on Friday, the DOJ submitted a list of items Villatoro purchased with her ill-gotten gains, including a number of accessories from high-end brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton.
According to the DOJ, Villatoro worked for the Department of Agriculture at the time she committed the massive fraud.
Before that, she was a D.C. Homeland Security Commissioner. According to a LinkedIn account with her name, she was a “senior expert publicly confirmed as Commissioner by the District of Columbia City Council to provide recommendations to the Mayor on improvements in security preparedness.”
She also said she’s a Doctoral Candidate in cybersecurity.
“I am a disruptor with expertise in sustainability, strategy, program management, logistics, homeland security, disaster management, and technology,” her LinkedIn bio states.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
