A Texas attorney has pleaded guilty to felony charges after admitting she stole more than $540,000 from six children whose parents died in a murder-suicide in Kendall County.
Prosecutors say the lawyer, identified as Karen Kay Hogan of San Antonio, entered her guilty pleas in a Kendall County courtroom to misapplication of fiduciary property of $300,000 or more and to exploitation charges involving children and a disabled person.
The case centers on money held in the estates of Jason and Emily Evans, whose deaths left their six children as the only heirs. Hogan faces a potential punishment that could include probation or a prison term of up to 20 years under Texas law, according to KSAT.
Investigators reported that deputies discovered Jason and Emily Evans dead from gunshot wounds at their home on Dec. 31, 2021, and later concluded that one spouse killed the other and then died by suicide.
All six of the couple's children were inside the residence at the time, ranging from early childhood to mid-teens. After the deaths, the children became entitled to their parents' property, accounts, and insurance proceeds.
Court documents state Hogan was appointed to manage the Evans estates, first on a temporary basis and then as a dependent administrator by order of a Kendall County judge.
As administrator, she set up estate bank accounts that were supposed to hold the children's inheritance. Records allege she then added herself as a joint owner on those accounts and began moving money out without court approval, Crime Online reported.
Affidavits filed in the criminal case say Hogan transferred about $541,550 from the estate accounts into her law firm's business account over several months.
In one example, she is accused of shifting $40,000 from an estate account in August 2023 and later wiring funds to destinations that investigators have not fully traced. The filings emphasize that Hogan had no legal right to the children's money because she was not a beneficiary.
State bar and local reports indicate Hogan has surrendered her license to practice law. Officials say the six children, including an eldest child with a developmental disability, remain the legal owners of any funds that can be recovered through restitution or related civil proceedings, and Hogan's sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, as per Boerne Star.
Originally published on Lawyer Herald
