A town administrator in Las Animas County is facing several felony charges after investigators say she funneled more than $26,000 from a small town’s water project intended to secure long-term water access, to her personal bank account.
Tyra Marie Avila, 47, who was the town clerk, treasurer and administrator of Aguilar for 17 years, was arrested on suspicion of theft, cybercrime, embezzlement of public property, forgery and fraud by check, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday.
Avila resigned in September 2024 and posted a $15,000 bond after turning herself over to law enforcement, CBI said.
Investigators say she took money from federal loans and grants that were awarded to the town of about 450 for a massive reservoir project. The money was allegedly commingled with the town’s general fund and used for unauthorized personal transactions and other town expenses, leaving contractors for the critical water project unpaid, CBI said.
An attorney for Avila was not listed in online court records.
The town was awarded $5.7 million in 2021 from the USDA to build an augmentation reservoir to replace out-of-priority stream depletions caused by the pumping of the town’s alluvial wells to provide water for the town, the newspaper reported. Construction began in December 2023.
The reservoir project remains incomplete and uncertified by the state, the Walsenburg-based World Journal reported in August, calling the project “a symbol of small-town infrastructure gone awry.”
In August 2024, the newspaper reported that the water project had dried up the town’s general fund.
The town of Aguilar has since taken steps to implement stricter financial controls and set up a separate account for the water project that is only accessible by the mayor and a USDA official, to ensure the project can move forward, CBI said.
The USDA, Office of Inspector General and Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office also assisted in the investigation.