DALLAS—A federal grand jury has returned a two-count indictment charging an Austin, Texas, corporate executive with offenses related to a public corruption investigation involving Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and others, announced John Parker, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and Richard L. Durbin, Jr., Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.

Helena Tantillo, 58, of Austin, is charged in the indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Austin last week, and unsealed today, with two counts of making a false statement to law enforcement. Tantillo surrendered to federal authorities in Austin today and made her initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge who released her on bond.

A federal criminal indictment is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The statutory penalty, upon conviction, for the offense charged is five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, per count.

The FBI and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation are conducting the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Walt M. Junker and J. Nicholas Bunch and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Miller are prosecuting.