West Texas administrator pleads guilty to stealing $300,000 in school funds
VALENTINE, Texas (KVIA) -- A former West Texas school district employee pleaded guilty to fraud charges today.
43-year-old Marfa resident Ernesto Villarreal Jr., the previous Business Manager and Tax Collector and Assessor for Valentine ISD, pleaded to fraudulently misappropriating school district funds for his personal expenses.
Court documents state that Villarreal used two school district credit cards to make hundreds of unauthorized personal purchases. Federal prosecutors say Villarreal spent thousands with the credit cards, issued over $10,000 in checks to himself, issued over $20,000 in checks to cover his personal credit card debt, and routed over $100,000 to his bank account.
Federal prosecutors say Villarreal used the money to fund travel, lodging, home improvements, hardware store purchases, cell phone bills, gas, oil changes, and convenience store purchases.
"Villarreal is believed to have caused over $300,000 in losses to Valentine ISD," federal prosecutors stated Friday.
Villarreal pleaded guilty to theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and eight counts of wire fraud.
"He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 21, 2025. Villarreal faces up to 10 years in prison for the theft count and up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count," prosecutors say. "A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors."
