A woman accused of embezzling more than $250,000 from a local car dealership was in court Monday for a pre-indictment hearing.
Teri Lee Queen, 55, appeared before 5th District Judge Bill Miller on Monday afternoon with Sylvia Delgado of the Bowie County Public Defenders Office. Queen is accused of pocketing $268,820.67 from her former employer, Pete Mankins Nissan of Texarkana.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter said she is in the process of discussing what type of plea arrangement might be satisfactory to the alleged victim and asked that the case be rescheduled for a future date. Miller set the case for another pre-indictment hearing Aug. 9. The case has not been presented to a grand jury for formal indictment.
Queen is facing two to 20 years in prison and could be ordered to pay restitution if convicted of theft between $150,000 and $300,000. She is currently free on a $100,000 bond.
The dealership's management reported the suspected theft to Texarkana, Texas, police in January, according to a probable cause affidavit. Queen allegedly pocketed cash deposits paid for vehicle purchases and covered her tracks by voiding invoices and later misappropriating funds from one payment to make another look right.
Queen's misconduct allegedly began in January 2017. TTPD Investigator Cody Harris worked with Mankins staff to audit the business over a four-month period. Queen was arrested April 25. She was released April 30 on a $100,000 bond, court records show.
Employees told investigators that Queen, who worked for the business since 2011, had made purchases that seemed out of keeping with her earnings. The purchases allegedly include a car, a lake house and a boat.