TAFT, Tx — Two former employees with the City of Taft turned themselves in to law enforcement Tuesday and several arrest warrants have been issued for a third.
Former City Manager Kandi Hubert and former City Secretary Andrea Gomez are in custody.
Hubert is charged with official oppression and Gomez is charged with four additional counts of tampering with a governmental record with intent to defraud.
Several arrest warrants have also been issued for former Finance Director LeeAnn Goben, who is charged with eight counts of tampering with a governmental record with intent to defraud.
As 6 Investigates previously reported, Gomez was arrested in May and charged with four counts of tampering with a governmental record with intent to defraud following an investigation into misuse of overtime. Gomez was indicted by a grand jury in September.
The Taft Police Department began an investigation earlier this month into misuse of city credit cards following an admission by Goben that she had used the city card for personal items.
6 Investigates conducted an initial review of the city's bank statements and credit card transactions. The statements revealed questionable purchases on a city credit card used by Goben that total just over $30,000 between June 25 and September 29 of this year.
The financial documents show Goben withdrew more than $10,000 from ATM's, made payments of over $12,000 to CashApp accounts, and just over $600 to PayPal during this time frame. She also made electricity payments, bought fireworks, went to the movies, and spent over $3,000 at H-E-B.
Taft Police Chief John Landreth previously told 6 Investigates the department has already uncovered $50,000 to $80,000 in misappropriated funds.
On Tuesday, Landreth said the department's criminal investigation is ongoing and he expects additional charges to be filed.
