Rodeo accountant accused of stealing $1.3 million won’t go to prison, Texas reports say

The former accountant for a Texas rodeo accused of stealing more than $1 million from the organization won’t go to prison, media outlets report.

Mark Weston, the ex-financial manager for Rodeo Austin, pleaded guilty Thursday to theft, KEYE reported. He was sentenced to 10 years of probation, according to the news outlet.

In 2016, rodeo officials noticed problems with financial accounts, and Weston repaid $850,000 as part of a legal agreement, KXAN reported. A forensic audit later determined about $1.3 million was missing, the news outlet reported.

“It is important to understand the magnitude of Mr. Weston’s crimes and the fact that he is a CPA, and knowingly stole over $1 million from a charity and has continued to live on those stolen proceeds for the last five years,” Rodeo Austin CEO Rob Golding said in a victim’s statement, according to KXAN.

In 2017, Weston’s attorney said a prescription for Parkinson’s disease led his client to develop an obsessive-compulsive disorder that caused him to spend money uncontrollably, the Austin American-Statesmen reported.

“With Mr. Weston’s knowledge of accounting, especially forensic accounting, he could have very easily hidden the theft of funds,” his attorney Alberto Garcia said in the statement, the newspaper reported. “Yet, all he did was in the open that any first-year accountant could have easily discovered. Again, this is an example that Mr. Weston’s actions were the result of the medication Requip, not an intentional act on his part.”

A 2010 study of Parkinson’s drugs, including Requip, found that dopamine agonists may cause impulse control issues, Reuters reported.

Weston agreed to pay $120,000 in restitution as part of the plea agreement, KEYE reported.

This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 5:19 PM.