Smith County Bank Officer Sentenced for Embezzling Funds

TYLER A 59-year-old Lindale woman has been sentenced to federal prison for embezzling bank funds in east Texas. Mary Jane Haxton pleaded guilty July 18 to misapplication of funds by a bank employee. She was sentenced Wednesday in Tyler to 30 months behind bars by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis. Haxton was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $446,344.66.

According to information presented in court, Haxton worked as a cashier at Lindale State Bank from 1984 until early 2014. In 2004, Haxton began embezzling funds totaling $445,940.66 by misapplying the funds to personal accounts which she owned or controlled. In December 2013, Lindale State Bank merged with Texas Bank and Trust and became an official branch of Texas Bank and Trust. After the merger, the accounting department was in the process of reconciling accounts and discovered the funds had been misapplied.