A new report claims Austin’s municipal government sent close to one million dollars to nonexistent companies.
According to a report from the city auditor, Mark Ybarra—who was an employee of Austin Energy—fraudulently reported nearly $980,000 in credit card transactions with fictitious companies. The report states that this activity took place over a period of six years.
“Ybarra paid fictitious vendors on his purchasing card for work that could not be verified,” reads the report.
“Among the vendors that Ybarra paid, several businesses appear to be related to his extended family and at least one appears to be directly related to Ybarra,” the report continues. “Ybarra took advantage of lacking purchasing controls and insufficient reviews by his former supervisors, Sammy Ramirez and Renee Codina which led to the waste of City funds.”
The report states that $400,000 went to companies whose listed address was the same as a family member of Ybarra’s. The remaining funds lacked even this level of documentation and “appear to be fake.”
Ybarra resigned from Austin Energy in October 2023. RealClearWire reports that he was indicted for fraud last September.
The disclosures about Ybarra come at a time when city spending, especially as it relates to taxpayer funded credit cards, is under renewed scrutiny.
A separate scandal, related to the use of city credit cards by Austin City Council members, is widely perceived to have contributed to the landslide defeat of Proposition Q last November. Had it passed, Prop Q would have been the largest tax increase in city history.
Austin Energy has also been subject to public ire in recent years. Complaints include billing errors, excessive fees, and failure to promptly restore service following inclement weather. State Rep. Ellen Troxclair (R–Lakeway), who served on the Austin City Council from 2015-’19, filed legislation during the 2023 session that would have significantly reformed the utility’s management structure had it passed.
News of these fake payments come as a coalition of citizen groups has launched a petition drive to amend the city charter, requiring an independent audit of municipal finances before any future tax increases. If successful, this petition drive would place the proposed charter amendment on the May 2026 ballot.
Organizers need to collect 20,000 valid signatures to place this measure on the ballot. Activist group Save Austin Now stated in a December 30 email that the coalition had collected “5500+” of those signatures thus far.
