Alto ISD Addresses Stolen Check, Clarifies FBI Involvement

ALTO, Texas (TXAN 24) — Alto ISD officials have addressed the situation directly with TXAN 24 News via their legal counsel Blaine Craven and clarified the extent of federal involvement.

In May 2024, the district discovered that a check issued to a third-party vendor had been intercepted, altered through a technique known as “check washing,” and fraudulently cashed at a Chase Bank branch in Connecticut. The stolen funds totaled just under $130,000.

Following the incident, Alto ISD reported the matter to multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI office in Tyler.

According to the district’s official statement, “The special agent communicating with the District took the information and shared with officials their initial assessment of the facts – which was that the amount of money at issue (a little less than $130,000) was an insufficient amount of money to launch a formal Bureau investigation.”

Furthermore the district continued:

Alto ISD emphasized that their intent was to exhaust every avenue for accountability and recovery. “The statement made by Ms. West was simply sharing with the community which agencies the District had made reports to in an effort to reiterate the measures taken to recover the funds,” the district clarified.

While the individual responsible for the fraud remains unidentified, most of the funds have been recovered through insurance negotiations and assistance from the involved financial institutions.

TXAN 24 News will continue tracking this developing story and provide updates as new information emerges.