County Judge Calls for Investigation of Alleged "HOT Funds Misuse" at Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Stevie Quilo
Jun 20
4 min read

County Judge Lewis Owens Jr. signs some paperwork with Assistant County Attorney John Clemmer

County Judge Lewis Owens Jr. provided “Judge’s Comments” at the end of County Commissioners Court on 6/18/25. He spoke about the Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, alleged misuse of funds, FBI inquiries, and potential cover-ups and corruption. During his statement, Owens called out, by name, two different owners of local news media businesses, as well as the City of Del Rio. Owens granted an in-person interview to Del Rio News Network on 6/20/25 to clarify some pressing details.

Del Rio News Network (DRNN) has spoken with representatives from the FBI, Val Verde County, and City of Del Rio. Multiple board members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce were contacted but declined to provide comment, simply referring back to their public statement dated 6/19/25. Written requests for public information have been submitted to the San Antonio FBI, Val Verde County Attorney’s Office, and Del Rio Communications Department.

DRNN’s investigation so far has revealed that earlier in 2025, a check for more than $60,000 was given from the Hispanic Chamber to a local news media business. A few months later, somewhere around $45,000 was refunded back to the Hispanic Chamber from the media business for “services not rendered.” Allegedly, a business invoice was provided for the monetary difference. Owens said that presently, “all the money is accounted for...”

Owens started his statement by saying, “I’ve been waiting for over a month now for the Hispanic Chamber to come make a comment to us or to let us know about funds that I believe were misused or given to a company in order for advertisement.” The full five-minute statement can be seen on the County’s official YouTube page, starting at timestamp 1:50:45.

The full five-minute statement can be seen on the County’s official YouTube page, starting at timestamp 1:50:45.

The particular media business in question could not be confirmed nor denied at this time by anyone. Owens did reference both The Texas Times and The 830 Times in his 6/18/25 statement, saying “this is something y’all should have reported… y’all knew about it, y’all voted on it...” Owens was acknowledging the fact that both media business owners are also active Hispanic Chamber board members. Owens said he is “very disappointed with all the board members.”

The County Attorney’s Office confirmed there is no active litigation between the Val Verde County and the Hispanic Chamber. However, the County Judge has alleged that the Del Rio City Attorney met with the Hispanic Chamber to resolve the issue, but did not inform the County about the issue, neither before nor after it was resolved. Owens believes he should have been directly notified by either the City or the Hispanic Chamber, because he said County funds are “comingled” in Hispanic Chamber’s accounts.

The Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is located on Veteran's Boulevard

The Hispanic Chamber’s 6/19/25 public statement said, “It is also important to clarify that the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has neither received nor requested any HOT funds from Val Verde County in at least four years.” Owens confirmed this fact, as verified by the County Auditor, that the county has not transferred HOT funds to the Hispanic Chamber since at least the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Owens also proclaimed, moving forward, the county will no longer allocate HOT funds to the Hispanic Chamber. County Commissioners seemed to be supportive of his statement.

The Hispanic Chamber acknowledged the mistake: “We conducted a thorough internal review, received reimbursement for any services that were not rendered, and have collected and submitted proof of all other expenditures related to the HOT funds in question. Additionally, we met with the City of Del Rio to review and resolve these matters, and we are pleased to report that everything has been taken care of to their satisfaction.”

Val Verde County Commissioners Court took place on Wednesday 6/18/25

DRNN will be reviewing Del Rio City Council meeting records to identify the exact votes and HOT funding sources associated with the issue. Owens said all of this attention could have been avoided if the news media businesses or Hispanic Chamber had come forward weeks ago with a statement, like he had requested. Feeling like his hands were tied, and to clear the name of the county, Owens provided his statement to get the information out on public record. He didn’t want the county "caught up" in "cover up” allegations.

The Texas Times and The 830 Times provided public statements in response to Owens, both within one 830 Times article published 6/19/25. Throughout the exchange, Joel Langton of The 830 Times is referred to as “Langton” and Javier Martinez Jr. & Sr. are referred to as a single entity “Martinez” representing The Texas Times. Owens was willing to partially exonerate The 830 Times, confirming the check was not cut out to them. Owens remarked numerous times on how much he appreciated all statements that were provided, thanking all entities for their responses.

Langton emailed the following statement to 830 Times senior reporter Karen Gleason. Langton said: “I have the utmost respect for our county judge and for all of the commissioners. If they think something inappropriate happened on our board financially, I personally would welcome any law enforcement official to come and take a look at our books and documentation.” Javier Martinez Jr. also emailed The 830 Times a comment. Martinez said: “We fully respect the personal finances of businesses and organizations, as those matters are their own. We hold the commissioners and the county judge in the highest regard…”