Former Gilroy School Board Member Facing Felony Charges

A former Gilroy, San Jose and Southern California school board member and state assembly candidate has been charged with two counts of felony theft for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from an engineering firm and a nonprofit organization that hired him.

"He was chosen for these jobs because he's somewhat of a public figure," said Deputy District Attorney John Chase, adding, "his position on the school board was being exploited."

According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, 51-year-old Francisco Dominguez allegedly double-billed the South County Collaborative, a charitable association he was supposed to help with an anti-drug youth campaign.

Because Dominguez had been put in charge of the organization's bookkeeping between 2008 and 2010, he was able to write himself the extra checks, the district attorney's office said.

According to the district attorney's office, in 2011 Dominguez also allegedly stole from Parsons Corporation, an international engineering and construction management firm that hired him to attend meetings and gather information about public opinion regarding high speed rail.

But an investigation revealed that Dominguez billed the company for attending community meetings and conducting a number of business meetings with community members, organizations, officials, business owners and groups that either didn't involve discussions about high speed rail, didn't happen on the date Dominguez billed for, or never happened at all, Chase said.

Dominguez is currently out of custody and facing a warrant for his arrest.

If convicted, Dominguez could face up to three years in prison, according to the district attorney's office.

—Reporting by Bay City News