Former Miss Colombia Valerie Dominguez was indicted for embezzlement in agricultural corruption scandal Friday.
Dominguez is charged with embezzlement and document falsification for her alleged participation in a corruption scandal at the Agro Ingreso Seguro (AIS) a government bureau tasked with providing subsidies to poor, rural farmers.
Dominguez is accused of receiving subsidies despite having no connection to agriculture or struggling farmers. Dominguez allegedly applied for a $173,000 subsidy for land owned by the wealthy Davila family, which she was allegedly leasing at the time.
As the scandal broke, AIS administrators reportedly contacted Dominguez to use her in a public relations campaign to rehabilitate the bureau’s image.
Dominguez denies ever considering the bureau’s offer.
Dominguez contests the charges against her, and has stated that she will cooperate fully with the government.