A 2015 synopsis: December

Submitted by Canton1 on

Missing funds traced to former tax assessor

Former Van Zandt County Tax Assessor-Collector J.J. Minyard appeared in court in Canton Dec. 10 and pled guilty to stealing $178,856.08 from taxpayers during her tenure as an elected official.

Minyard was the county’s tax assessor-collector from 2009 to 2012. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to repay restitution.

Minyard’s arrest and conviction comes on the heels of a joint investigation by VZC Criminal District Attorney Chris Martin and Sgt. Johnny Hatcher, an investigator with the Criminal Investigations Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

According to information from Martin’s office, a yearlong investigation revealed that Minyard had manipulated more than 120 deposit slips by overstating the amount of checks collected while understating the amount of cash collected.

Minyard pocketed the cash, Martin said.

“Additionally, there were 11 different dates wherein she failed to deposit the daily business into the county’s bank, leaving the money completely unaccounted for,” he said. 

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