2023
READERS’ CHOICE
Spring Break activities at local libraries - Page 4
GET SEEN CALL 713-371-3600
ADVERTISE HERE! WEDNESDAY • MARCH 5, 2025
Man pleads guilty to CARES Act fraud, receives probation
Linus Dewon Mouton, 42, recently pleaded guilty in a Fort Bend County court to engaging in organized criminal activity in a CARES Act fraud scheme. Courtesy Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office
Staff Reports A Cypress man recently pleaded guilty to engaging in organized criminal activity related to a scheme to commit CARES Act fraud, according to a news release from the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed and signed into law in 2020, provided one-time cash payments to Americans as a means of dealing with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Linus Dewon Mouton, 42, is the sixth person to plead guilty in the scheme, which spanned across Harris and Fort Bend counties, resulted in fraudulent federal disbursements of more than $300,000, according to the prosecutor’s office. On February 11, 2025, Mouton was sentenced to four years’ probation and ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution, making him the sixth of ten defendants ordered to return the proceeds. To date, $144,361.80 in restitution has been collected or is subject to collection by court order. In June 2020, Mouton received $10,000 in CARES Act relief earmarked for small agricultural businesses. He falsely claimed to be the owner of “Linus Crops and Grains,” a business with 15 employees and $74,000 in annual revenue. No such business existed, and Mouton later admitted to paying someone to submit the application on his behalf. An investigation led by Warren Buckley of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, revealed that more than 70 other applications were processed at the same time, from the same location, and using the same figures. “The CARES Act was designed to help people and businesses survive the economic downturn during the pandemic, and it is reprehensible that these defendants took money out of the pockets of those who were hurting,” Fort Bend District Attorney Brian Middleton said in the news release. “I’m proud of the work we’re doing with law enforcement to hold violators accountable.” The case was prosecuted in the 268 th District Court by the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Division. The division was formed in 2019 to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by government officials and fraud committed against government by any person. Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity in this case is a first-degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years, or life, in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 50 • No. 10 • $1.00
Visit www.FortBendStar.com
George releases lengthy statement about his arrest, indictment By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Five months after he was indicted on a misdemeanor charge of misrepresentation of identity. Fort Bend County Judge KP George last week released a lengthy statement recounting his version of the events surrounding his arrest and indictment. T he stat ement, titled “Statement of Facts,” is the most detailed account by George since the events of last fall, when George first became embroiled in the ongoing investigation of a former staff member. Before Tuesday, George and his attor-
ney have been largely silent on the matter other than George’s statement that he is innocent of the charge. In its own statement released afterward, the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office said it stood by its investigation of George In recent weeks, three men – 434th District Court Judge J. Christian Becerra, former Precinct 4 Constable Nabil Shike, and political consultant Muzzammil “Eddie” Sajjed – have announced their intention to challenge George in next year’s Democratic primary. George was first elected to the county’s high-
est elective office in 2018 and was reelected in 2022. On Friday, former Texas Rep. Jacey Jetton, a Republican, announced in a press release that he has formed an exploratory committee “to assess a potential campaign for Fort Bend County Judge.” The committee is comprised of many leading GOP figures in Fort Bend County. Jetton, of Sugar Land, had served the 26th District in the Texas House before losing a primary battle last year to Matt Morgan, who now holds that seat. Fort Bend County Judge KP George on Tuesday released a lengthy statement regarding his indictment and arrest for a misdemeanor charge. In the stateSEE GEORGE PAGE 2 ment, he maintains his innocence. File photo
Fort Bend ISD students recognized at Rodeo Art Awards Ceremony
Sixteen Fort Bend ISD student artists were recognized at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo School Art Program Awards Ceremony. Courtesy Fort Bend ISD
Community Reports Sixteen Fort Bend ISD student artists were recognized at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo School Art Program Awards Ceremony, more than any other school district in the competition, according to a story on the story on the district’s website. Among them, Elkins High School senior Hyewon “Joy” Park earned the prestigious title of Reserve Grand Champion. Their artwork was among a few select pieces for the School Art Auction in March.
This year, approximately 200,000 students from 99 public school districts and 55 private schools participated in the Rodeo’s School Art Program. Out of nearly 4,000 submissions, judges advanced 819 pieces to the final round, where 90 were chosen for auction.
FBISD honorees include: Clements High School • Mingyi “Mary” Li • Tingyu “Wendy” Wu • Naomi Leong • Stephanie Jiang • Dulles Middle School • Juliet Zhou
Elkins High School • Hyewon “Joy” Park • Amy Wang • Grace Cao • Shuya Gan • Rinan Ahmed Fort Settlement Middle School • Brianna Hu • Emily Jin Hightower High School • Brooklynn Rackley • Valeria Lara • Sydney Linton
Ridge Point High School • Emma Jeter The auction will take place Sunday, March 16 at 11 a.m. in the NRG Arena Sales Pavilion. Proceeds from the auction go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Educational Fund which provides scholarships for Texas students. Winning artwork can be viewed at rodeohouston.com/exhibitors-contestants/school-art-contest/ and will be on display in the lobby of NRG Center throughout the 2025 Rodeo.
GHP looks at regional GDP growth, diversification Staff reports Editor’s note: In its “Economy at a Glance” report for March, the Greater Houston Partnership - the regional chamber of commerce - highlights the region’s GDP growth and industry diversification. The main body of the report, lightly edited, is presented here with permission. As noted in the January issue of Economy at a Glance, Houston’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure that captures the value of all final goods and services produced
in the metro area, experienced solid growth in 2023. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimates that Houston’s GDP grew by 7.9 percent from $645.8 billion in 2022 to a record high of $697.0 billion in 2023. Growth has been especially strong since the COVID-19 pandemic began to subside in 2021. In the two years from 2021 to 2023, Houston’s GDP grew by 25.1 percent. That is significantly faster than the U.S. overall, where GDP grew by 16.0 percent during the same period. In fact, among the 20 most populous U.S. metro areas,
Houston has had the fastestgrowing economy since 2021, as measured by GDP. Even though it’s smaller in absolute terms, Houston’s GDP has grown more than twice as quickly as San Francisco and at nearly double the pace of the largest metro areas of New York and Los Angeles.
GDP by Industry Five industries – manufacturing, professional/business services, real estate, government, and healthcare/ education – are the leading drivers of this growth. Together, they
made up more than 50 percent of Houston’s GDP in 2023. Though the BEA withheld Houston-specific data for wholesale trade in 2023, historic data suggest it also likely played a significant role. Compared to the U.S. overall, manufacturing and professional/ business services make up larger shares of Houston’s GDP, while real estate, government, and healthcare/ education play a comparatively smaller role.
SEE GHP PAGE 2