Additional arrest made in Petrolia HS Band Booster Club embezzlement

PETROLIA, Texas (TNN) - An additional arrest has been in the Petrolia Band embezzlement case, according to a Clay County affidavit.

The suspect, Anthony Fox, was arrested after a lengthy investigation by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

A different suspect, Chantil Fox, allegedly admitted to taking $3,000 from the Petrolia High School Band Booster Club’s bank account back in December of 2019.

Law enforcement tracked her down after the club’s president produced documents showing Chantil had made unauthorized withdrawals.

The president also presented two copies of a bank statement - one from the bank and one from Chantil - which authorities say showed obvious manipulation.

She was charged with theft of property and was released from jail on bond.

According to investigators, Chantil stated one of the unauthorized withdrawals from the Club account was an $1,800 transfer to her personal bank account.

Investigators then discovered in March 2020 the transfer did not go to her personal bank account as she stated, but to the Clay County Firefighter’s Association (CCFA) account.

Investigators spoke with the CCFA President Kevin Zachry who stated he was made aware Anthony Fox owed the association $200 but he did not know anything about the $1,800 deposit.

After obtaining the CCFA’s bank records, it was revealed that Anthony had opened the bank account in October 2019. Records showed the account balance was less than $300 from July 19 to July 31, 2019, but the August 2019 bank statement showed an ending balance of $2,013.

Investigators then got a warrant for Google information related to Chantil’s e-mail. They discovered pictures of the Booster Club’s August 2019 bank statement, altered files from the online PDF annotator and document signing platform DocHub, and documents that had been manipulated to remove the $1,800 from the Booster Club’s bank statement.

Richard Skelton with the CCFA met with investigators and stated the Treasurer was the only one with access to the funds. He then indicated he relied on information provided by Anthony.

An investigation into the Treasurer’s Report showed the July 2019 opening balance at $2,137 but bank records showed it to be $277. Further investigation revealed the ending balance contained the same discrepancy.

With the information obtained above, law enforcement arrested Anthony and charged him with theft of property greater than $2,500 but less than $30,000, a 3rd Degree Felony.