On February 15, 2015, after a two yearlong joint investigation with, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Waller County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, Waller County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau Of Investigation, the Department of Public Safety, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service, Andres Victor Woodcock was arrested on federal charges of Procuring Naturalization (Citizenship) by Fraud. Woodcock was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 3, 2015.
After a state investigation was initiated by the Waller County District Attorney’s Office, it was determined that Woodcock, a native of Colombia and resident of Waller County, was alleged to be using Paso Fino horses as instruments to defraud investors in his horse breeding business. It was common practice that Woodcock would sell interests in his horses as an investment. These investments ranged from $50,000 to $100,000 USD each. Promising a much higher return on the victim’s original investment, several victims complained that Woodcock would take their investment and would never make a return on it. In some cases, never making contact with the victim at all. One such incident resulted in Woodcock being indicted, along with a co-defendant, in Waller County for Securing Execution of a Document by Deception, a felony offense for which he is currently awaiting trial in the District Court of Waller County.
After the Waller County grand jury indicted Woodcock, investigators from the District Attorney’s Office met with Homeland Security and the FBI to conduct further investigations.
“These charges are a result of the joint efforts of federal and Texas authorities working together. As they should, these agencies have worked together, sharing information about a common threat to the safety and well-being of our local community. I look forward to continuing to work with Mr. Ken Magidson, our U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas and his Assistant United States Attorney Ed Gallagher, to keep our region safe.”
