HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — They paid a high price to live downtown, and now a Houston couple is paying an even higher price for doing it.
Felipe Andujar and his wife, Emily Galvez, were arrested Tuesday on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity in connection with a scheme to lease homes and apartments using fake pay stubs and identities, according to authorities.
Investigators say that’s how Galvez rented a unit at Elev8 downtown for more than $6,200 a month.
When police executed a search warrant at the apartment in July, they say they found 13 guns, $51,000 in cash, and drugs.
Police say they began investigating Andujar and Galvez in December shortly after arresting Rosemary Tucker on an engaging in organized criminal activity charge.
They say Tucker had been helping people rent apartments with fake pay stubs and identities.
When they went through her phone, they say they found text messages she’d exchanged with Andujar.
At the time, he and Galvez were trying to rent a place to live but worried that Andujar’s past drug-possession conviction and Galvez’s lack of credit history would hurt their chances.
Investigators say they turned to Tucker and agreed to put leases in Galvez’s name by providing fake pay stubs.
Police say the couple rented two properties using Tucker’s services in 2023 and 2024.
At some point, they say Andujar began acting as a broker and found clients to sublet properties from Tucker that they say she’d rented using fake identities.
Police say in September 2025, Galvez began renting the apartment at Elev8.
In the weeks prior, text messages show Andujar agreeing to pay $1,500 for another man in exchange for a fake employment offer for Galvez.
“What’s the monthly rent you’re trying to stay under so I can provide you with enough income to get approved?” the man, who hasn’t been charged, texted Andujar.
Investigators say Galvez submitted a fake employment offer letter for a job paying $21,000 a month. Yet the Texas Workforce Commission told police they couldn’t find any record of the company Galvez claimed made her the offer.
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