Former Taft Finance Director LeeAnn Goben will pay $15,752.08 in restitution and a $5,000 fine, according to the 36th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Former Taft Finance Director Leeann Goben was sentenced to 5 years probat ionGoben pleaded guilty Sept. 1. On Tuesday, 156th District Judge Boyd Bauer sentenced her in seven cases, according to First Assistant District Attorney R. Kyle Hinkle.Two of the cases are third-degree felonies, and Bauer gave Goben 10 years in prison on each. The other five are state jail felonies, and he gave her two years on each. All seven sentences are probated to five years of probation, according to the district attorney's office. That means Goben will not go to prison as long as she completes her probation. Hinkle said the sentences will run at the same time.How KRIS 6 News first reported the caseGoben resigned as finance director on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, KRIS 6 News reported. In her resignation letter, she told the city council the job's demands had become too much.City Manager Ryan Smith told 6 Investigates the bank had called him about charges that looked personal. He told KRIS 6 News that the person involved had admitted to it. Mayor Leonard Vasquez told KRIS 6 News the city had started an internal investigation into its purchasing cards.That same week, 6 Investigates filed a public information request for the city's bank statements. Smith said recent staff changes had delayed his access to the bank, and that the station would get the records once he had access.The city's first decision: no charges6 Investigates obtained an email Smith sent to Taft Police Chief John Landreth. In it, Smith wrote that the city believed the personal charges came to about $1,000. He also wrote that the council had accepted Goben's resignation instead of firing her, as long as she paid the money back. The email said the council had decided not to move forward with charges at that time.Vasquez told KRIS 6 News the council first chose not to pursue criminal charges, but asked Smith to investigate.What 6 Investigates found in the recordsOn Oct. 14, 2024, KRIS 6 News reported the results of its own review of the city's bank statements and credit card transactions. The station found just over $30,000 in questionable purchases on a city credit card Goben used between June 25 and Sept. 29, 2024. According to those records, Goben: Withdrew more than $10,000 from ATMs. Made more than $12,000 in CashApp payments and just over $600 in PayPal payments. Paid electricity bills, bought fireworks and movie tickets, and spent more than $3,000 at H-E-B.6 Investigates also reviewed city payroll records from January to September 2024. Those records showed Goben paid herself almost every week, while other employees were paid every two weeks. On the day she resigned, she paid herself a month's salary.KRIS 6 News reported that Goben still had access to city finances after the bank's warning. Vasquez said the council had been told she did not have any credit cards, and that oversight was the city manager's job.By then, Taft Police and the Texas Rangers were investigating how city employees spent taxpayer money. Landreth told 6 Investigates his department had already found $50,000 to $80,000 in misappropriated funds.Two days later, KRIS 6 News covered a city council meeting where more than 50 residents showed up. At that meeting, Smith said the finance director should never have had a credit card, because that position serves as a check and balance for the city.When a resident asked why the purchases weren't caught sooner, Smith pointed to turnover. He said the council had gone through four or five city managers in about two years.Goben turned herself in to the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office in November 2024, KRIS 6 News reported. At the time, she was charged with eight counts of tampering with a governmental record with intent to defraud.Charges against former city secretary dismissedKRIS 6 News also reported on overtime paid to former City Secretary Andrea Gomez. In May 2024, Landreth reviewed city timesheets and raised concerns about overtime, 6 Investigates reported. In several cases, KRIS 6 News found Gomez had signed her own timesheet as both employee and supervisor, or left it unsigned. Gomez did not respond to multiple requests for comment at the time.Later that month, Gomez was arrested on four counts of tampering with a government record with intent to defraud. In September 2024, she was indicted on four counts. KRIS 6 News reported she was paid for 522.42 hours of overtime between Sept. 25, 2023, and Feb. 25, 2024, and that her social media posts showed her at sporting events during hours she reported working. Gomez resigned around the time of the indictment.In October 2024, Gomez faced four additional counts of the same charge.The cases against Gomez were dismissed in September and November 2025, according to Hinkle. He said further investigation showed she had permission for the activities she was charged with.For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today! ...read more read less