TYLER, TX—A 59-year-old Lindale, Texas woman has been sentenced to federal prison for embezzling bank funds in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

Mary Jane Haxton pleaded guilty on July 18, 2014, to misapplication of funds by a bank employee and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis on Nov. 12, 2014. Haxton was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $446,344.66.

According to information presented in court, Haxton worked as a cashier at Lindale State Bank from 1984 until early 2014. In 2004, Haxton began embezzling funds totaling $445,940.66 by misapplying the funds to personal accounts which she owned or controlled. In December 2013, Lindale State Bank merged with Texas Bank and Trust and became an official branch of Texas Bank and Trust. After the merger, the accounting department was in the process of reconciling accounts and discovered the funds had been misapplied.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.