SINTON, Tx — A San Patricio County woman is facing five felony charges of theft of property valued at $300,000 or more after her employers allegedly uncovered more than $1.6 million in unauthorized transactions over several months.
According to criminal complaints obtained by 6 Investigates, 43-year-old Vanessa Elizabeth Slaton had been employed by Epic Energy Services in Sinton for approximately 11 years.
As part of her role, Slaton was responsible for paying vendors for jobs contracted by Epic Energy Services using multiple accounting software programs, the complaints state.
On Jan. 16, Epic owners Chester and Rebecca Bosworth conducted an audit of the company’s business accounts. During that review, the owners allegedly discovered numerous unauthorized transactions that they believe were transferred into Slaton’s personal account.
The complaints allege the transactions occurred between July 4, 2025, and Jan. 17 of this year and were broken down as follows:
- July 4 to Aug. 9 (8 transactions): $312,690.16
- Aug. 16 to Sept. 16 (7 transactions): $312,889.36
- Sept. 20 to Oct. 18 (13 transactions): $343,977.52
- Oct. 18 to Nov. 29 (7 transactions): $315,857.89
- Dec. 6 to Jan. 17 (8 transactions): $319,138.77
- TOTAL: $1,604,553.70
After discovering the transactions, the Bosworths reported the matter to the San Patricio County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 16. Slaton was taken into custody four days later.
On Jan. 19, Judge Leslie DeAses writes the Bosworths provided her with documents that included dates, amounts and the last four digits of the account numbers that the monies were transferred to.
An officer at the San Patricio County Jail confirmed to KRIS 6 News that Slaton remains in custody on bonds totaling $2.5 million..
KRIS 6 News has reached out to Epic Energy Services for comment but had not received a response as of publication. However, the Sheriff's Office tells 6 Investigates that amount stolen could be more than the current $1.6 million as the investigation is ongoing.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
