By Arturo Castanares
Editor-at-Large

A former Chula Vista City Councilwoman was sentenced this week after pleading guilty in February to two felony counts of grand theft related to a fraudulent COVID-era federal loan and falsely claiming unemployment benefits during the pandemic.

Andrea Cardenas, 32, apologized to the court on Wednesday afternoon during her sentencing hearing where Judge Rachel Cano imposed a 2-year probation period, 100 hours of community service, and one day of in-custody detainment for her role in stealing over $230,000 in federal and state funds.

Andrea Cardenas

 

Cardenas and her brother, Jesus Cardenas, 42, each pleaded guilty to two felony counts in February under a plea agreement after District Attorney Summer Stephan indicted the siblings on a total of 14 felony charges. 

Jesus Cardenas

 

The siblings were charged for falsely applying for a $176,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) federal loan meant to help business retain workers during the COVID pandemic, and for wrongfully applying for over $55,000 in unemployment benefits they claimed in 2020 while both still working for their consulting firm.

At the time they defrauded the federal government, Andrea Cardenas was a Chula Vista City Council member and Jesus Cardenas was serving as Chief of Staff to San Diego City Councilman Stephen Whitburn.

Under the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed not to seek more than one year in county jail instead of over three years in state prison the charges carried, but ultimately asked Cano to sentence each sibling to only six months in county jail.

On Wednesday, Cardenas apologized “to my community and family for my actions” saying “the last 10 months have been the most difficult of my life”.

“I don’t consider myself a victim, but my parents are my number one priority,” Cardenas said while crying during the court hearing. “They’re relying on me to tend to their needs,” she added, repeating a similar theme used during her brother’s sentencing in March where he also claimed to be supporting his parents. 

Although Cardenas and her lawyer, Pedro Bernal, spoke during the hearing to appeal to Judge Cano, a legal brief they submitted to the court before the hearing was filed under a protective seal, meaning the entire document will be kept hidden from the public. 

The legal brief filed by Jesus Cardenas and his lawyer before his sentencing hearing in March was not filed under seal. 

In March, Judge Cano sentenced Jesus Cardenas to only 45 days in a residential custody facility and 135 days of home detainment, two years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and a shared court order with his sister to pay over $225,000 in restitution to the state and federal governments but allowed him to only make payment of $500 per month.

Both siblings are now convicted felons and may petition the court to reduce the convictions to misdemeanors after their two year probation periods are completed and they repay the full amount of restitution owed to the federal and state governments. The two could still face prison sentences if they commit crimes during their probation periods.

The indictment came after a February 2023 La Prensa San Diego story reported on the PPP loan where the Cardenas siblings claimed to have 34 employees in their political consulting firm, Grassroots Resources, despite multiple sources confirming they had not had any employees during the period required to qualify for the PPP loan. 

In a more than two hour phone interview with La Prensa San Diego before the article, Jesus Cardenas admitted he had used the names of employees of Harbor Collective, a marijuana dispensary in San Diego that has been a client of Grassroots Resources, to claim a $176,211 loan meant to help business retain workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Only two types of businesses were specifically excluded from qualifying for PPP loans; marijuana businesses and political consulting firms. 

Cardenas falsely listed his company as a financial consulting firm on the PPP application. 

When prosecutors charged the political siblings, the indictment included details of how the pair conspired to complete the fraudulent loan application, how they misspent the proceeds to pay down a personal credit card, and paid over $30,000 in campaign debt from Andrea’s 2020 election. 

Andrea Cardenas decided to run for re-election to her City Council seat after the pair was indicted, and Jesus Cardenas continued to help her campaign, along with political consultant Jehoan Espinoza, a longtime associate of the pair. 

Five candidates challenged Cardenas in the March 2024 Primary Election, including Chula Vista Elementary School Board member Cesar Fernandez whose 2022 election had been run by Jesus Cardenas. 

Andrea Cardenas resigned her seat just days before pleading guilty in February 2024 but her name remained on the ballot and she continued campaigning for re-election. Cardenas ended up in fifth place in the March election.

Fernandez and former Chula Vista City Councilman Rudy Ramirez will face off in the November 5th General Election.

Despite the felony conviction, political campaigns continue to use Jesus Cardenas as a consultant.

Although his Grassroots Resources company has been suspended for several years by the state for failing to file tax returns, Cardenas has created two new fictitious names to operate as a consultant. Impact Strategies and Impact Strategies Group were filed by Cardenas earlier this year.

The Laborers' International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 89 in San Diego used Cardenas earlier this year when the union spent over $700,000 to support candidates for the San Diego County Democratic Party's Central Committee. The union supported 36 candidates, including San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, LiUNA’s local leader and his adult son who is also a union official, and LiUNA's political director.

Jesus Cardenas continues to help other campaigns behind the scenes, including working against former clients he feels turned against him, including Chula Vista Elementary School Boardmember Kate Bishop who is running for re-election, and her colleague, Cesar Fernandez, who challenged Andrea Cardenas for her Chula Vista City Council seat in the Primary Election and will be on the ballot in the November General Election.

Correction: A previous version. of the article mistakenly listed the restitution payments ordered by the court as $50 per month. The amount is $500 per month. The article has been updated.