Former City View ISD tax collector sentenced for embezzlement

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - A former City View ISD tax collector was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, for embezzling over $320,000 from the school district.

Judith Ann Heaston was sentenced to five years of community supervision for a charge of theft of property over $300,000, according to court documents. Heaston had pleaded guilty to the offense.

The investigation reportedly began after City View ISD Superintendent Tony Bushong completed an internal audit which found the large discrepancy. Court documents state Bushong asked Heaston about the error and where the money could be on Feb. 5, 2019. The next day, he announced an employee, later identified as Heaston, had been fired following the audit.

Heaston was arrested on Feb. 19, 2019, and she reportedly told investigators that all of the money is gone.

Court documents state investigators also spoke with the president of the tax software company used by City View ISD. Upon review, the company found a difference of $323,382.51 between the money paid to City View ISD and money received by the state. The company said the the software had been manipulated to show a difference of money received to what was owed, and that the manipulation could only have come from a user of the software.

The company also said the discrepancies go back at least eight years.

However, investigators who checked Heaston’s personal bank account noticed numerous large cash deposits dating as far back as 2002, made during times when the school was open. Investigators have not said if those cash deposits were criminal or came from legitimate sources.