A longtime finance director at McCreery Aviation in McAllen is headed to federal prison after admitting she siphoned off nearly $1.2 million in company cash to cover her personal credit card bills. On Wednesday, a judge sentenced her to 25 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered hefty restitution. Court records show she is expected to surrender next month to begin serving her time.
U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton handed down the sentence in McAllen federal court, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas. Prosecutors said she admitted using company funds for personal expenses while working as the firm’s finance director, and local reporting notes that the FBI led the investigation.
What prosecutors say happened
Court filings and local coverage indicate the scheme ran from January 2019 through December 2023. During that stretch, the finance director, who had worked at McCreery Aviation for about 16 years, used signed, blank company checks to send payments to several credit card companies. KRGV reports that the criminal complaint lists multiple unauthorized checks and pegs the loss at roughly $1.19 million.
Restitution and surrender
The judge ordered about $1.28 million in restitution, according to court records, and local reporting indicates she has already repaid roughly $100,000. MySA reports she must surrender to U.S. Marshals by Feb. 6 to start serving her sentence.
How investigators uncovered the theft
Prosecutors say the scheme began unraveling in late 2023, when a co-worker spotted irregularities in how company checks were being handled, which set off the FBI probe. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said investigators found she at times “exploited her position of trust” to divert company money for personal use. The office handled the prosecution.
Legal fallout
The defendant pleaded guilty on July 9, 2025, as part of an agreement that narrowed the case. Had she taken it to trial and lost, she could have faced up to 20 years in prison and a potential $250,000 fine, according to local reporting. KRGV adds that remaining counts were dropped in the plea deal and that the FBI conducted the investigation.
Hoodline first flagged the case last year, when the finance director was charged in a $1.2 million mail fraud scheme, and the sentencing now closes out the prosecution while the long process of collecting restitution continues.
