Finance director of McAllen aviation company indicted for $1.2M mail fraud scheme

MCALLEN, Texas — The former director of financing for McCreery Aviation in McAllen has been indicted for a scheme to defraud her employer, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Elizabeth Batten, 57, a resident of Mission.

Batten turned herself into authorities. She is expected to make her initial appearance on Friday at 9 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker.

The indictment returned on Wednesday said Batten was the director of financing at McCreery Aviation in McAllen from 2019 to 2023. While in that role, she allegedly diverted company funds to pay for her expenses.

It also alleged used signed blank company checks, intended for legitimate business purposes, to settle her personal credit card accounts. She's also accused of hiding her actions by sending the fraudulent payments through the U.S. Postal Service.

The news release says that in 2023, a McCreery Aviation employee noticed irregularities in the handling of company checks. A following investigation allegedly uncovered Batten's actions.

Batten is charged with 10 counts of mail fraud. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.