Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar, Brother of Rep. Henry Cuellar, Indicted on Federal Embezzlement Charges
'I am completely innocent of these charges'
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Martin Cuellar — the Webb County sheriff in Texas and brother of recently pardoned Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas) — was arrested in relation to a probe over alleged misuse of public resources and corruption involving COVID-era cleaning contracts, according to an indictment on Thursday.
Laredo residents Martin Cuellar, 67, and Alejandro Gutierrez, 47, turned themselves in to authorities and made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan in Houston, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei of the Southern District of Texas.
A federal grand jury returned the now unsealed five-count indictment Nov. 19, 2025. It alleges that between 2020 and 2022, Cuellar and Gutierrez conspired with others to misappropriate WCSO funds.
According to the indictment, Cuellar, Gutierrez and former assistant chief Ricardo Rodriguez used WCSO staff and resources to run a for-profit disinfecting business during the COVID-19 pandemic. They allegedly opened Disinfect Pro Master in April 2020 and entered into service agreements with local businesses and restaurants despite having no employees or supplies of their own. The indictment also alleges WCSO employees handled the company’s day-to-day operations from the sheriff’s office where they picked up schedules and equipment to conduct disinfecting services both on and off the clock with the county.
The charges also allege Disinfect Pro Master secured a $500,000 contract to clean United Independent School District schools in Laredo and completed the work using WCSO staff and resources. For more than two years, the business allegedly operated almost entirely with county employees and supplies, incurring minimal overhead.
Cuellar, Gutierrez and Rodriguez each received approximately $175,000 – one third of the profits, according to the charges. Cuellar allegedly used part of his proceeds to purchase property in Laredo.
Cuellar has denied any wrongdoing.
“I am completely innocent of these charges. Over the course of my career—as a Texas State Trooper, a Narcotics Sergeant investigator, Narcotics Lieutenant and now as your Sheriff—I have learned the difference between what is right and what is wrong, and I know what I did and did not do,” he said in a statement.
If convicted, Cuellar and Gutierrez both face up to 10 years in federal prison, as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Cuellar is also charged with money laundering, which could carry an additional 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount of property involved in the real estate transaction.
Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing on March 16.
On Dec. 4, 24Sight News reached out to Henry Cuellar about his brother’s arrest, asking him to confirm details about the pending indictment. Cuellar responded: “Traveling but can follow up tomorrow.”
Days later he denied his brother had been indicted, stating it was “just rumors.”
The Webb County Sheriff’s office said in an email on Dec. 8, “We have no information about this matter and we don’t want to respond to unconfirmed rumors. Sheriff Cuellar is concerned about keeping the community safe,” when asked to comment on Dec. 8.
The indictment follows an FBI probe that became public in 2023 when agents searched the sheriff’s department headquarters and a private residence, forcing the building’s temporary closure, KGNS previously reported. The searches were part of an examination into cleaning contracts awarded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rodriguez operated Disinfect Pro Master while holding a senior position within Cuellar’s department, NOTUS reported last year. Federal authorities sought records involving the sheriff during their investigation into the arrangement.
In 2021, the United Independent School District hired Rodriguez’s firm for sanitization services. Records show Rodriguez held three positions simultaneously: assistant chief under Cuellar, owner of the contracted company, and member of the school board that approved his business for the work, according to NOTUS.
Prosecutors examined pandemic-related sanitization deals, with Martin Cuellar confirming in a public statement that authorities questioned him regarding “employees going to daycares, churches, and County buildings to disinfect,” the NOTUS report said.
FBI - San Antonio and Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation as part of the Laredo Border Corruption Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather Winter and Robert Johnson are prosecuting the case.
When agents conducted their 2023 search, the sheriff attempted to separate himself from any potential wrongdoing, telling KGNS the inquiry targeted Rodriguez specifically. “If they were on duty working with this company, that’s on them,” Martin Cuellar told KGNS.
President Trump announced he was pardoning Martin’s brother, Henry Cuellar and the congressman’s wife, Imelda Cuellar, on Dec. 3 over allegations that they “accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: an oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan, and a bank headquartered in Mexico City.”
Trump claimed, without evidence, that the congressman was targeted by former President Joe Biden’s administration over his position on border security.
“Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” Trump said on Truth Social.
Henry Cuellar and his wife have repeatedly and vehemently denied wrongdoing. Following the pardon, the Texas Democrat thanked Trump on X for “his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts.”
“I thank God for standing with my family and I during this difficult time,” Cuellar wrote. “This decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas. This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on.”
Trump later voiced that he regretted the pardon after the Texas lawmaker filed for reelection as a Democrat, blasting him for a “lack of loyalty” on Truth Social.
Colin Strother, the congressman’s former campaign manager, and his consultant Florencio “Lencho” Rendon, agreed to plead guilty in 2024 to charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, but did not receive pardons. Strother’s lawyer, Michael McCrum, advocated for his client’s case to be dismissed in the wake of the pardon, telling the San Antonio Express-News: “If the president has deemed this prosecution as unwarranted of proceeding, then I would expect and hope that the Department of Justice would dismiss the case against Mr. Strother.”
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