Former Wall Co-Op General Manager Sentenced for Embezzling $2.1 Million

SAN ANGELO, TX — Former Wall Co-Op general manager Mina Louise Abbott was sentenced to 42 months in prison Thursday at the O.C. Fisher Federal Building and United States Courthouse.

Abbott admitted to embezzling more than $2.1 million from the Wall Co-Op over the course of about three years. She was ordered to pay $2,146,885.19 in restitution.

More than 50 members of the Wall community were present in the courtroom, and more were able to listen to the proceedings in two overflow rooms. The Wall Co-Op has over 400 members.

Two community members gave victim impact statements, one of whom alleged Abbott actually took more than $3 million.

The prosecuting attorney said the FBI's analysis found the overwhelming majority of the money was spent on retail goods.

He said some of the money was spent on personal trips or was just taken in cash, but the majority of it was online shopping, noting the hallway entering her home was filled with boxes from the floor to the ceiling.

Judge James Hendrix went above the advisory guidelines for Abbott, who had no prior convictions or arrests, and ordered three years of supervised release when she completes her prison sentence.

Abbott’s attorney had requested a sentence of 180 days served on house confinement, which was denied.

However, Abbott’s request to surrender at a later date was granted. She was given 42 days to surrender to the court by 2 p.m. Oct. 10.

Impact on the Wall community

Frankie Schwartz, the vice president of the Wall Co-Op, gave a statement and said the co-op has been part of the foundation of the community since it was formed in 1950.

Abbott worked at the Wall Co-Op for about 25 years, including the last three years as general manager and treasurer.

"She used that trust as a knife to stab us in the back," Schwartz said.

He alleged she "tried to tear the co-op apart" while covering her tracks by pitting employees against each other.

"It was amazing how vindictive she could be," he said.

Schwartz said Abbott previously served as the treasurer of another organization, which also began missing money. The judge said he was unable to consider that allegation in his ruling because no evidence had been presented on it.

Another community member, Kelli Inge, detailed the damage that Abbott caused.

"She took money by maxing out our lines of credit and exacerbated an already fragile financial situation," Inge said.

Abbott also took money that had been allotted for loan payments, Inge said, which has set the co-op back and forced it to pay $208,000 in interest so far.

Abbott then destroyed records, which made the recovery process more difficult, Inge said.

Some retail partners will no longer do business with the co-op, she said.

"The recovery from the financial impact is nothing compared to the damage to our reputation," Inge said.

Abbott was making about $120,000 a year in salary and benefits, according to Inge.

While reviewing court documents, Hendrix noted that Abbott wrote 334 checks to herself, and she made 324 ATM withdrawals.

"The fact that you were so flippant with the money, spending it on largely worthless stuff, it's shameless and hard to wrap my mind around," the judge said.

Hendrix said that Abbott's continued pattern of theft for three years, along with her abuse of public trust, were aggravating factors in his decision.

He said the fact that she stole from farmers made it worse.

"A farmers co-op in West Texas is borderline sacred," Hendrix said.

Abbott recently offered to let the co-op try and sell many of the items, which are in a storage facility. Hendrix said he was skeptical how much money could ultimately be recovered.

In addition to $200 per month restitution payments, which will begin 60 days after Abbott's release from prison, the Wall Co-Op should soon receive over $69,000 that was recovered from Abbott by the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office.