Former Employee Faces Prosecution After Misappropriating Company Funds

Elizabeth Batten, the former Director of Finance and Administration at McCreery Aviation, pleaded not guilty to fraud on September 6. She is charged with allegedly misappropriating nearly $1.2 million of the company’s funds.

The 57-year-old appeared before the U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Hacker at McAllen’s federal courthouse to make her formal plea.

McCreery Aviation, based in McAllen, is a provider of comprehensive aviation services, including aircraft maintenance, charter flights, and pilot training. Company owner Bob McCreery reportedly had frequent business-related travel plans, leaving signed checks for Batten to manage -- presumably to cover actual business costs, not, say, personal credit card bills. Unfortunately, it seems as though Batten didn’t get the message.

In 2023, the company uncovered a million-dollar discrepancy in its financials. They launched an internal review, which revealed that Batten had been using signed blank checks to settle her credit debt. Records show that she mailed these payments through the U.S. Postal Service to avoid detection.

Batten is now being charged with 10 counts of mail fraud. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. As for her bail, Judge Hacker set a $50,000 bond with no immediate cash deposit required.

In the meantime, Batten is barred from excessive alcohol and CBD products during her release -- a small price to pay for allegedly living the high life on corporate funds.

“She’s already surrendered the firearms that were in her house,” commented Batten’s attorney, Chris Sully of McAllen. “They’re in my possession. And I have her passport with me, ready to surrender that as well.”

The case prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Flores, noted that authorities had no objections to the bond conditions.

FMI: www.mccreeryaviation.com