UPDATED February 13.
Following a years-long investigation, a former Kress official has been charged with stealing city funds.
Heidi Ann Tiffin, 47, was indicted on a charge of theft by a public servant, a third-degree felony punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison.
The indictment, issued by a Swisher County grand jury, accuses Tiffin of appropriating city property valued between $2,500 and $30,000.
The charge follows a “thorough investigation conducted over several years by state and local law enforcement agencies into financial irregularities that occurred during her tenure as City Secretary,” according to a statement released Wednesday by Kress Mayor Johnny Taylor.
Tiffin served as the city secretary of Kress in 2018 and 2019. There is no public data to show when she left that position.
She was also a municipal judge in the city, and she later served on the Kress Independent School District board of trustees from 2021-2024.
Tiffin was taken into custody on February 6 and booked into the Swisher County Jail in Tulia.
At the time of her arrest, Tiffin was working as a junior high teacher in the Tulia Independent School District. Tiffin does not hold a Texas teaching certificate.
“The City of Kress remains committed to transparency, accountability, and upholding the trust of our residents,” stated Mayor Taylor. “We are cooperating fully with the ongoing legal process and will take all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of our municipal operations.”
Tiffin was released from jail on February 9 on a $10,000 bond and has reportedly returned to work at Tulia Junior High School.
Tiffin’s case will be prosecuted by the Swisher County Attorney Amy McAtee and presided over by 64th District Court Judge Danah Zirpoli.
In 2022, while Tiffin was a Kress ISD trustee, her partner Ben Rojas was removed from his job as a substitute teacher and security officer with the district for supplying an 18-year-old student with vape products. The girl told police that Rojas had requested nude photos via Snapchat as payment for the vapes.
No criminal charges were filed in the case, as the student had deleted her Snapchat account, but Rojas was fired from his job with the Tulia Police Department over the incident.
