Embezzler kills herself before sentencing
Spring woman admitted to stealing $1.2M from employer
A Spring woman who admitted to embezzling $1.2 million killed herself hours before she was expected to be sentenced to prison earlier this week, according to court records filed Thursday.
Paige Moody Bisher, a 43year-old who worked part time as an administrative assistant for a small Houston company, shot herself in the chest in the parking lot of an Humble Walmart hours before she was expected to be ordered to prison, according to records of the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science.
Her death was ruled a suicide by the medical examiner.
Bisher admitted her guilt to the embezzlement in January and was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday by state District Judge Nikita Harmon. The judge did not return a call about the sentence she would have handed down.
Prosecutor Lester Blizzard, who filed a dismissal in the case, said Bisher faced up to life in prison and he was planning on asking for a lengthy prison sentence for the first-degree felony theft of more than $300,000.
“It is a very tragic event, and we will pray for the healing of all those involved in this sad case,” Blizzard said in an email.
Bisher’s attorney, Ned Barnett, did not return repeated phone calls for comment.
Bisher’s scheme was allegedly discovered after the owner of the company asked to see the books and, instead of showing him the accounts, Bisher quit. That triggered a full-scale audit that found she had written checks to herself from the company’s coffers. The case was referred to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office financial crimes division, which obtained an indictment against Bisher.
Bisher and her husband opened a barbecue restaurant in Magnolia in 2017 that has since closed. Her husband could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Bryan Vaclavik, the chief fraud examiner at the Harris County DA’s office who took part in the Bisher investigation, said the case was unique because of the amount Bisher took.
“The abuse of trust in this case was unparalleled in the 24 years I’ve been investigating white-collar crimes,” he said.