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Former tax office employees indicted in fraud scheme
A Travis County grand jury has indicted three people, including two former county tax office employees, following an investigation into a vehicle registration scheme that operated directly out of the county billing system for more than three years.
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas - A Travis County grand jury has indicted three people, including two former county tax office employees, following an investigation into a vehicle registration scheme that operated directly out of the county billing system for more than three years.
Newly filed arrest affidavits reveal the operation involved thousands of dollars in trackable peer-to-peer financial transactions used to bypass state laws.
The backstory:
Former tax office employees Ana Hernandez and Maira Reyes, along with Ana Hernandez’s father, Edwin Hernandez, each face third-degree felony charges of engaging in organized criminal activity.
According to court records, the Travis County Tax Office first flagged the employees in October 2025. Investigators allege the system was used to bypass mandatory state emissions and safety inspections for paying customers.
"It's a problem with government credibility when you have something going on this long and nobody detects it," said Sam Bassett, a criminal defense attorney not affiliated with the case. "I was just surprised in this case at the amount of money and the length of time that this scheme was going. It's a pretty embarrassing situation for the tax office."
According to the affidavit, Ana Hernandez admitted to law enforcement that she processed several fraudulent transactions per day for profit, receiving approximately $50 per registration and $100 per title. Customers reportedly paid $350 per vehicle to circumvent state inspection requirements. In one verified case, a vehicle was successfully registered despite not having passed a valid emissions test since 2020.
To complete the transactions, Ana Hernandez reportedly used her personal credit cards to pay for the registrations. Investigators said she paid her co-worker, Reyes, nearly $30,000 to use Reyes' login credentials to avoid detection. Financial records audited by investigators confirmed those peer-to-peer transfers.
"Even though the person who just gave their name and password didn't do the legwork of actually creating the registrations, they can be held equally responsible with the other people involved," Bassett said.
The affidavit names Edwin Hernandez as the outside coordinator of the operation, alleging he recruited customers looking for unlawful registrations. In one instance, a witness reported being approached by an individual at a local HEB grocery store who recommended securing a vehicle registration through Edwin Hernandez.
Bank records reviewed by investigators show Edwin Hernandez transferred more than $132,000 to his daughter between August 2022 and December 2025.
In a statement, the Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector acknowledged the security breach and noted that motor vehicle fraud remains a systemic issue across Texas. The office stated it is currently implementing new internal auditing measures designed to detect credential abuse early.
What's next:
The case is being prosecuted by the Travis County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit and will head next to district court.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Katie Pratt