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WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 29, 2021
Star of the Year
STAR OFFICE CLOSED TO BRING IN THE NEW YEAR
Our office will be closed both Thursday, December 30th, and Friday, December 31st, in observation of the New Year. OUR NEW PHYSICAL ADDRESS 14100 Southwest Fwy. Ste. 230 Sugar Land, TX 77478 MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 2369 Stafford, TX 77497
Visit www.FortBendStar.com
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 46 • No. 19
Providing a voice
Four charged in alleged COVID fraud scheme By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Four Fort Bend County men have been charged in connection to an alleged $35 million coronavirus relief scheme. Hamza Abbas, 29; Khalid Abbas, 55; and Abdula Fatani, 55, all of Richmond; and Syed Ali, 53, of Sugar Land, are accused of conspiring with others to submit more than 80 fraudulent applications for federal coronavirus relief programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program loans, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. The men are all charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and Khalid Abbas, Fatani and Ali are also charged with money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The four men are accused of submitting the false applications, falsifying the number of employees and average monthly payroll expenses for applicant businesses to seek more than $35 million in loan funds, and receiving more than $18 million, according to the indictments. The defendants allegedly wrote checks from those companies to fake employees, which includes some of the defendants and their relatives, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The latest indictments bring the number of people charged in connection to the alleged relief scheme up to 15 people, including several Fort Bend County residents. Other county residents charged include Rifat Bajwa, 53, of Richmond, and Raheel Malik, 41, of Sugar Land, according to a news release. Malik pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, according to a release.
Fulshear resident Rhonda Kuykendall has dedicated much of her adult life to advocating for victims of human trafficking both locally and at the state and federal levels, making her the 2021 Star of the Year. (Photo by Trina Rothman)
Kuykendall dedicated to helping child trafficking victims By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
In the eyes of those who’ve worked closely alongside Fulshear resident Rhonda Kuykendall, it’s her dedication and perseverance that most stand out to them. She has the ability to withstand disappointment and convince others to pass legislation to help victims of child sex trafficking, according to David Lanagan, who serves alongside Kuykendall with the Child Advocates of Fort Bend. Kuykendall has been named the Fort Bend Star’s Star of the Year for her work with the Child Advocates of Fort Bend, the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office’s Human Trafficking Team and with Texas Court Appointed Special Advocates
Rhonda Kuykendall, right, sits alongside Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, center, and state Sen. Joan Huffman at a bill signing. Kuykendall has been named the Star of the Year. (Contributed photo)
(CASA), among other organizations. “She’s more than deserving of the honor,” Lanagan said. Here is Kuykendall's story: First involvement Kuykendall, 51, has spent the bulk of her life living in Fort Bend County, she said. That’s how she
knows firsthand that children are being victimized in sex trafficking, because she herself was when she was 10, she said. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” she said. “People don’t realize it’s always been here, in Fort Bend County, and Harris County, and all over the
world since the beginning of time.” The U.S. Department of Justice defines child sex trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transportation or solicitation of a minor for a commercial sex act. Many victims of human trafficking don’t realize they have
been victimized, she said. Because of the way it happens, people believe it’s their own fault, and victims usually have a lot of guilt and shame about it, she said. After being trafficked in 1981, Kuykendall took years to come to grips with what had happened and, in 2003, decided to track down the man who had trafficked her – finding him in prison, Kuykendall said. “I decided I was going to try to press charges, but learned the statute of limitations had passed,” she said. Learning that children, many of whom like Kuykendall would take years to deal with the aftereffects of abuse, would be limited by a statute of limitations led to Kuykendall’s first
SEE STAR PAGE 7
Top 10 stories: Year shows area coming together amidst struggles By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
As the year comes to a close this week, it’s been a bit of a tumultuous one in Fort Bend County. From drama between elected leaders to new leadership taking over the area’s primary school district to development progress and more, it was quite the year for
residents of one of the country’s fastest-growing counties. These stories are not placed in any particular order, but we’ve done our best to place the most relevant stories, as chosen by our staff, near the top. Winter freeze hammers county Residents were hammered by below-freezing temperatures as part of Winter Storm Uri, leaving more than half of
the county without power for several days in mid-February. From Stafford to Richmond, Needville and Kendleton, residents were without power for multiple days and the low temperatures led to water service issues, causing local governments to enact water boil notices.
SEE 2021 PAGE 7
A volunteer hands a bottle of water to a resident in need during a food and water giveaway at Family Worship Center in Stafford earlier this year. The event served groceries to 5,500 families. (Photo from Twitter)
JERRY FLOWERS
Real Estate Agent, MBA, CNE, ABE Army Veteran (RET) • 832-702-5241 Jerry@dreamhomesbyjerry.com
4500 Highway 6, Sugar Land, TX 77478