Department of Justice

DeSoto ISD Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $250,000

A former DeSoto ISD employee pleaded guilty Tuesday to embezzling more than $250,000 from the district, he now faces up to five years in prison

NBC 5 News

On Tuesday, a former DeSoto ISD employee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after embezzling over $250,000 from the district.

The announcement was made in a press release by Chad E. Meacham, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

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Terry Lynn Sanders, 57, was the former DeSoto ISD Director of Energy Management. In plea papers, he admitted to using a school district credit card to make 30 payments worth $255,100 to an outside company.

According to court documents, the company owner kicked back portions of each payment to Sanders, totaling around $100,000.

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Sanders also admitted to that neither he nor the owner performed any work for the district and that the company didn't have a contract with DeSoto ISD.

To test oversight of the card, Sanders used the card to make seven payments worth more than $17,000 to pay a fake vendor tied to his personal bank account.

According to the DOJ, Sanders faces up to five years in federal prison. It's not immediately clear when Sanders will be sentenced.

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