CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — The man behind 361 Grants and alleged to have stolen an elderly woman's property is back behind bars.
Daniel Esparza, 51, who ran a group that claimed to help people apply for grants and other types of assistance, but many said were never received, was arrested on Monday morning.
Officers say his arrest was in response to a trespassing call they received just after 11 a.m. at a home on the 1500 block of South 19th Street.
When they arrived, the property owner told officers she had asked Daniel Esparza, also known as Daniel Saenz, to leave because he was past due on a day rental and was refusing to leave.
She showed officers the contract and the amount of money Esparza owed. She said she wanted him to get his things, pay the final amount, and leave the property.
When officers tried to get Esparza's side of the story, the confusion began. Esparza told officers Manuel was supposed to pay the property owner at 6 a.m. before going to class at 6:45 a.m. According to the police report, Esparza avoided giving them his name and eventually told them he was Manuel Saenz. He even provided an HEB card that had the name "Manuel E. Saenz". Esparza insisted that was his real name.
Officers then ran Manuel Saenz through their state database with the date of birth Esparza provided but the database returned a photo that did not look like Esparza. The report states "Daniel stated that it was an old picture from 10 years ago and that he put on weight."
Despite that, Daniel continued to say his name was Manuel Saenz. When officers asked Saenz, where his husband taught so that they could make contact with him, Daniel stated that he doesn't work at the school and he was homeless.
Officers then detained Daniel due to him giving a false name. According to the report, officers asked Esparza if they could search him and he gave verbal consent. During the search, officers found Esparza had a small plastic bag of cocaine. Officers then took him into custody for possession of a controlled substance.
Soon after, the property owner showed police a profile that was used to rent her property. The profile contained the name Manuel Saenz but with a completely different picture of the male that did not resemble Daniel. Santana then showed officers two different door camera footage of a man named Manuel Saenz and then separate video footage of Daniel Esparza. Officers then ran Daniel's name through the state database which returned a warrant that was issued on Feb. 21.
Esparza was charged with failure to identify as a fugitive for giving a false name to officers and possession of a controlled substance.
This isn't Esparza's first run in with the law. In 2020, he was arrested on drug possession charges. On March 30, 2023, he pleaded guilty to those charges and was sentenced to five years probation. In February, a motion to revoke his probation was filed in that case and a warrant was issued.
KRIS 6 News also investigated Esparza in the Fall of 2022, after receiving calls from several viewers who said Esparza's group "361 Grants" promised them a $10,000 home repair grant in exchange for a $150 fee. Dozens of people said they never received the money they were promised.
According to several viewers, Esparza signed up people at various locations including the El Barrio Food Pantry on South 19th Street, the Esparza's home at the time on the 700 block of Elesa Street and a home in Robstown, Texas.
However, no criminal charges have been filed against Esparza for 361 Grants.
Esparza's aliases include Daniel Saenz, Edward Turnbul, Edward Turnball, and Danny Trujillo.
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