Texas School’s $300k Gone: Business Manager Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges

HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas– In federal court on Thursday, a former business manager for a school district in East Texas entered a guilty plea to the charge of stealing money from the school. As the business manager for Trinidad Independent School District, Brandon Delane Looney, who is 38 years old, entered a guilty plea to the charge of stealing from a program that was receiving federal funding.

According to the prosecution, Looney stole more than $300,000 from Trinidad Independent School District between the years 2017 and 2023 while he was employed there.

Prosecutors from the federal government stated that Looney used the money to take extravagant vacations to Walt Disney World and to go on shopping sprees at the Disney Store. Looney could be sentenced to a maximum of ten years in jail, as well as a fine and forced restitution to Trinidad Independent School District for the funds that he stole.

According to the officials, Looney collaborated with the Financial Litigation Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office to save his assets and liquidate them in preparation for the restitution that he will be required to pay to Trinidad Independent School District when he is convicted.

Looney sold his home in Vidor, Texas, along with other assets, with the scrutiny and approval of the government, to preserve more than $200,000 for Trinidad Independent School District, according to the prosecution. The judgment for the full amount of restitution will be collected for twenty years following the conclusion of Looney’s stint in prison.