Evergreen Reporter

A former employee of Valentine Independent School District has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for wire fraud and theft related to programs receiving federal funds. Ernesto Villarreal Jr., aged 43, was found guilty of defrauding the school district by making unauthorized personal purchases with district credit cards and issuing checks from district accounts for personal use.

Villarreal, who served as Business Manager and Tax Collector/Assessor for Valentine ISD in Texas, used his position to carry out the fraudulent activities. According to court documents, he made unauthorized purchases exceeding $100,000 using two school district credit cards. Additionally, he issued over $10,000 in unauthorized checks to himself and more than $20,000 to cover personal expenses owed to a credit card company.

Further investigations revealed that Villarreal altered bank account information of certain employees to generate over $100,000 in fraudulent payments. These payments were directed into his own bank accounts without the employees' knowledge or consent. The total financial loss suffered by Valentine ISD amounted to $314,497.74.

Villarreal was arrested on June 24, 2024, and pleaded guilty on November 20 to all nine counts against him. In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge David Counts ordered him to pay restitution amounting to $314,497.74 and imposed a forfeiture money judgment of $291,853.90.

Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman commented on the case stating: “Mr. Villarreal abused his positions and the trust given to him, to steal and defraud the Valentine ISD—one of the smallest school districts in Texas—out of more than $300,000.”

John Morales from FBI El Paso emphasized the importance of trust in financial systems: "The foundation of any financial system is trust—and the expectation that those persons entrusted with public funding will honor that trust and act with integrity."

The investigation was conducted by the FBI with assistance from Texas Rangers and the Department of Education Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Fedock, Scott Greenbaum, and Chris Skillern handled prosecution duties.