LA JOYA – A former executive director of the La Joya Housing Authority was arrested by federal authorities Monday.

Frances A. Salinas was arrested on federal charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The La Joya Housing Authority has a series of arrests in its recent history.

In Aug. 2019, the board's vice-chairwoman, Sylvia Garces Valdez, was arrested on federal charges.

Valdez's indictment states she gave money to one person to bribe an elected official of the City of La Joya. It was reportedly done with the purpose of granting Valdez a public relations contract.

Her trial was originally scheduled for October. Then, it was moved to Dec. 2019. In November, a federal judge approved a request to postpone the jury selection to Feb. 4, 2020.

In May 2018, Juan Jose “J.J.” Garza, the executive director of the La Joya Housing Authority at the time, was sentenced after pleading guilty to submitting false bids in 2012 and 2013 along with his co-defendant, Armando Jimenez.

Garza entered into a plea agreement and was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison. Upon his release, he will be under federal supervision for two years.