A Lowell woman is in custody after a three-year Indiana State Police investigation discovered she may have falsified expungement documents and kept the deposit money from the law firm for which she worked.
Heather Ann Textor, 41, has been charged with five counts of Level 5 felony fraud against a financial institution; 13 counts of Level 6 felony forgery; seven counts of Level 6 fraud (enhancing circumstances); seven counts of Level 6 felony theft (value $750-$50,000); five counts of Level 6 felony fraud (value $750-$50,000); three counts of Level 6 felony fraud; and two counts of Level 6 felony counterfeiting, for a total of 42 felony indictments, ISP Spokesman Sgt. Glen Fifield announced at a Friday morning news conference at the ISP Lowell station.
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Charged Oct. 14 and arrested the next day, Textor remained in the Lake County Jail on a $150,000 bond as of Friday morning, Fifield said.
Authorities are also considering pursuing federal-level charges in the “first of its kind for Lake County” case because she used banking apps tied to her personal account, he said.
The investigation started in November 2023, after a Gary man seeking an expungement of his criminal record through the Merrillville law firm of Weiss, Schmigdall and Hires hand-delivered to the ISP’s expungement division in Indianapolis what appeared to be fraudulent expungement completion letters, Fifield said.
People seek expungements for a variety of reasons, and Amanda Hires, a principal with the firm, specializes in the practice, he said.
When the man, identified in court records as James Mobley, whose paperwork was flagged when he attempted to purchase a gun after he received an expungement completion letter, initially called the expungement division with the complaint, an employee in that office said they would contact Hires to get further documentation, according to court records.
An unnamed assistant first said they would email the documents, but when they didn’t arrive after two days, the employee called the law office back and was told by an unnamed assistant that Hires was out on vacation and another assistant was gone for the day, records said.
After Mobley delivered the fraudulent letters, he spoke to ISP Sgt. Joe White about the situation and told White that he’d dealt with a woman in 2019 from Hires’s office named “Heather,” who first took a $1,000 retainer from him in 2019 and then asked for an additional $600, all of which Mobley paid in cash and provided the receipts, court records said.
He also brought the expungement paperwork, and White said it was clear the signatures of the Lake and Porter County magistrates had been lifted from document files, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Additionally, Mobley showed White text messages which showed he’d been communicating with “Heather” about his expungement case from when he filed in 2019 to the day he drove down to Indianapolis in October 2023, court records said.
White then went to speak to Hires about the situation, records said; initially, Hires said she believed that Mobley fabricated the documents, but once White produced Mobley’s evidence, Hires realized Textor was the fabricator and fired her two days later, White said.
Over the course of the investigation, White and his team were able to identify many other clients from whom Textor took money but never passed them on to Hires to complete the expungements, he said. At least two victims found out their expungements weren’t completed after they were arrested and thrown in jail for warrants that should’ve been cleared.
“This is not a good person,” Fifield said. “There was no care for these victims. It was all about herself.”
White said state police also found the fraudulent receipt book and other items Textor used in her scheme in Aldi reusable bags in the law firm’s attic. When investigators questioned her coworkers, they said there was a period before she was fired that she would stay late at the office under the guise of having to catch up on her work, he said.
Lake County Prosecutor Bernie Carter noted during the news conference that Textor, who the firm hired in 2017, forged the signatures of all his deputy prosecutors and all but two judges during her scheme, as well as the name of a retired Porter County judge. As such, where Textor will be tried is currently unclear
Carter, White and Fifield commended Hires and the firm for its cooperation and help during the investigation and asked that people understand that there was no way they knew what Textor was up to. The Post-Tribune reached out to Hires for comment, but she didn’t respond.
Indiana State Police investigators believe that there could be additional victims who may not realize they have been taken advantage of. Anyone who believes they might be a victim of Textor’s actions should contact Sgt. Joe White at 219‑696‑6242, and he will follow up, Fifield said.
This investigation remains ongoing.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.