Spring woman who stole $1.2 million kills herself hours before sentencing

Photo: J.C. Reid / Houston Chronicle Paige Bisher in 2017 after opening The Feedlot BBQ joint on a...

A Spring woman who admitted to embezzling $1.2 million killed herself hours before being sentenced to prison earlier this week, according to court records filed Thursday.

Paige Moody Bisher, a 43-year-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 Wal-Mart hours before she was expected to be sent 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 expected 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 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 e-mailed response about the case.

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.

Recent sentences handed by judges in Houston and across the state in cases involving thefts of a million dollars or more indicate that Bisher likely faced substantial jail time.

In 2012, a Katy man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for stealing $1 million from a homeowners association. That same year, a Montgomery County jury sentenced a woman who stole more than $1 million to 65 years in prison.

On Friday in Brownsville, county worker Gilberto Escamilla was sentenced to 50 years in prison for stealing $1.2 million in fajita meat over nine years from the Cameron County juvenile center where he worked. He pleaded guilty to theft by a public servant.

Bryan Vaclavik, the chief fraud examiner at the Harris County DA’s office who took part in the investigation of Bisher, 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.