Moreno Valley city councilman arrested and charged with fraud
A Moreno Valley city councilman, already targeted in a corruption probe, has been arrested on suspicion of illegally collecting government money.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise says Marcelo Co was arrested Monday on suspicion of fraud, grand theft and two other felonies. He was released on bail. The paper says a woman who answered the phone at Co’s home declined to comment.
Co collected nearly $15,000 under a government program to help care for the elderly and disabled. Riverside County prosecutors allege he claimed to be taking care of his mother at a time when she actually was in Asia.
Separately, Co and four other council members have been targets of a regional corruption task force, which searched their homes earlier this year.
