San Antonio man sentenced to prison after writing nearly $1 million in hot checks

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A San Antonio man was sentenced to prison time for writing nearly $1 million in bad checks.

John Cardenas was found guilty in July on a charge of theft of service and sentenced this week to 20 years in federal prison.

Officials say Cardenas hosted multiple football-related events, some a week long, between November 2018 to January 2019 in which he told youth football leagues across Texas that players would be scouted or recruited to play on college teams. Cardenas reportedly wrote checks to the tune of $950,000 to pay for hotel rooms, charter buses, uniforms, and meals.

Cardenas was also convicted of stealing money from an elderly person in 2007.

“This defendant’s crime spree didn’t just target large businesses. Some of his victims suffered losses from which they may never recover financially. That he would continue writing checks he knew he did not have the money to cover while he was out on bond shows how little this defendant regarded the law,” said District Attorney Joe Gonzales.