Fraud and Misappropriation Lawsuit Unveiled Against Owners of DCJ Development Daniel Nunez and Christopher Garcia

Recent revelations have shed light on a troubling series of events within DCJ Development, as allegations of fraud and misappropriation have been brought against owners Daniel Nunez and Christopher Garcia. Since January 2023, Nunez and Garcia have held managerial positions within DCJ, with Nunez serving as Chief Executive Officer and Garcia serving as the Chief Operating Officer, thereby owing fiduciary duties to the company. Recent investigations have led to a fraud lawsuit filed on 3/8/2024 at 3:03 PM CST in Bexar County against Nunez and Garcia.

Financial Scheme Uncovered

The investigation, spearheaded by former Chief Financial Officer Justin Valinski, revealed a complex scheme orchestrated by Nunez and Garcia. In January 2024, Valinski, then serving as DCJ’s Chief Financial Officer, began uncovering financial discrepancies within the company’s operations. Through diligent investigation, Valinski discovered discrepancies between the locations where DCJ’s employees were purportedly working and the corresponding billing records.

Using geocodes activated through the Geographic Information System in QuickBooks Time, Valinski traced these discrepancies, revealing a complex scheme devised by Nunez and Garcia. The scheme, as alleged, involved several layers of fraudulent activity. Firstly, DCJ employees were purportedly working on construction projects, for which DCJ covered wages and materials costs, yet received no income from the projects, resulting in losses of thousands of dollars.

Misappropriation Allegations

Additionally, employees were reportedly paid for unaccounted hours, bypassing the QuickBooks Time system, leading to an estimated misappropriation of around $900,000. Furthermore, DCJ allegedly billed its largest customer, StandardAero of San Antonio, approximately $1,000,000 for labor and materials not utilized on their projects, potentially jeopardizing relationships and exposing Valinski to significant liabilities.

Notably, some of the work purportedly performed by DCJ employees was traced back to the personal residence of Nunez and Garcia. Valinski reached out to StandardAero’s onsite executive Lloyd Barker, Senior Vice President, via email on three separate occasions in March of 2024. In his email Valinski added a copy of the fraud lawsuit he had filed and copied Ron Gillette, Senior Vice President, on the email correspondence. Barker and Gillette then forwarded the emails from Valinski to Nunez and Garcia.

Contractor Fraud Exposed

Valinski believes that Barker and Gillette, due to their incompetence, don’t want to shine a light on the fraud which could have damaging effects on their multimillion-dollar military contracts with the Department of Defense. Valinski was told by Gillette that approximately 50% of StandardAero’s business is multimillion dollar contracts with the Department of Defense. Nunez and Garcia have also used unlicensed or uninsured tradesmen including electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians to do work within StandardAero while also not submitting permits for millions of dollars of work at the StandardAero location.

Due to the fraud being imparted against a government agency Valinski contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigations in April of 2024 and this investigation is currently ongoing. Nunez and Garcia are still contracting for StandardAero and haven’t been removed as of May 2024.

Financial Irregularities

Valinski’s scrutiny extended beyond labor discrepancies, uncovering thousands of dollars in personal expenses charged to DCJ’s credit cards, including purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, medical expenses, and restaurants. Since Valinski’s removal from his role as Chief Financial Officer he’s received several collection calls from various companies who are not being paid on time or at all in some cases along with employees and contractors who also haven’t been being paid.