Friday morning the Sabine County Sheriff's Dept. confirmed that Samantha Hill, former treasurer for Pendleton Harbor Volunteer Fire Department and also, treasurer for Hemphill Band Boosters, was in custody on four charges: Money Laundering >$2,500 +< $30,000, Misappropriation Fiduciary and Financial Property, >$2,500 +< $30,000, Theft of Property >$2,500 +< $30,000 and Forgery of Financial Instrument. Her bond has been set at $80,000 (20K for each charge).

According to the probable cause affidavit the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office became aware of an incident where the treasurer had allegedly written a check from PHVFD account to cover missing cash deposits equaling $2,800, owed to the Hemphill ISD Band Booster Account.

Hill was serving as  treasurer at the time for both entities. The Sabine County Sheriff investigator was contacted by Hemphill ISD Police (Officer Dyer) to assist. The volunteer fire department was made aware and stopped payment on the check that Hill had tried to deposit.  The affidavit also states that the VFD member signed a written statement that the signature was not his, thus adding forgery to the mix.

Pendleton Harbor VFD , while operating on a volunteer basis, they also receive partial funding from Sabine County through the budget process and community grants. (This we were told, was a contributing factor to the investigation and eventually the State of Texas becoming involved through the District Attorney’s office.)

The affidavit goes on to say, “An investigation was opened on May 13, 2023, and a Grand Jury Subpoena was granted and served.”

The Reporter able to obtain a statement from both entities. Stephen English, Hemphill Superintendent responded over the weekend.

“Hemphill ISD was alerted to a discrepancy in deposits by band director Christian Jesmore who noticed the difference in deposit slips.  At that point we turned the investigation over to Hemphill ISD officer Scott Dyer who began investigating the alleged discrepancies.  Upon discovery of some checks from a local department, officer Dyer notified the county sheriffs office of the allegations.  Soon afterwards Hemphill ISD turned the investigation over to the county sheriff's office. Officer Dyer continued to assist the sheriff's office in the ongoing investigation.”

Thursday evening, the PHVFD Fire Chief Samuel McClelland and board members contacted our office, wishing to reach out to the community with a statement.

“Tonight, our former treasurer, Samantha Hill, was booked into Sabine County Jail. Currently there are 4  charges against her in relation to her position with the Pendleton Harbor Volunteer Fire Department and her position as treasurer of the band boosters,  stemming from an investigation into missing money, forgery and our PayPal account. We as a community are hurting right now, we were shocked and angered upon learning of this deceit initially, and after reaching out to law enforcement, have cooperated fully with the investigation- that unfortunately uncovered much more than what was originally suspected, but this loss will not affect our operations and response. We don’t take your support and contributions lightly. We are extremely grateful for this community and all they have given to help keep our fire department running and providing safety and relief.  As the fire chief for PHVFD and on behalf of our entire board, I apologize for not discovering this sooner. You all are our top priority and responsibility; we will work even harder and non-stop to regain the trust that has been broken. And with that being said, continue to pursue justice in this matter for the PHVFD and for our entire community.”

Respectfully, Samuel McClelland, Fire Chief Pendleton Harbor VFD  

The arrest affidavit states, "On June 6, 2023. Affiant obtained the requested records from checking account, and a review of these records reflected a total of approximately $29.800.00 dollars, being transferred into by PayPal, a third-party payment service. These same records reflected, often the day following the deposits from PayPal, withdrawals, often for the exact amount of the deposit were withdrawn, by PayPal. These withdrawals amount to $28.000.00 dollars.

On June 16, 2023- Affiant met with the new treasurer for the PHVFD (Witness 1) who provided Affiant with a sworn written statement which noted that she had contacted PayPal and was advised that she could not make any changes to the PayPal account as it was setup as a private account in the Defendant's name. The PHVFD's only connection to the account was the use of the PHVFD email address. Witness 1 could not change or even access the account. Witness 1 then met with the Defendant and requested access to the PayPal account. The Defendant replied that she was not going to give anyone access to the account because she could not prove where any of the funds went.

Affiant notes that this is a continuing investigation and additional bank records are being requested, regarding PayPal and the Defendant's identified personal accounts held at another financial institution.”

As of press time, Hill remained in the Sabine County Jail.