A former legal secretary in Indiana is facing 42 felony charges and three misdemeanour charges after a three-year police investigation into alleged forged court orders, missing legal fees and fake criminal record expungements.
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secretary → face → orders
According to a probable cause affidavit reported by Region News Source, 37-year-old Heather Ann Textor of Lowell was arrested after clients who paid to clear their criminal records allegedly received fake court documents and forged letters from state officials instead.
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who → accord → officials
The investigation was led by Sergeant Joe White of the Indiana State Police Organized Crime and Corruption Unit.
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investigation → lead → Unit
It began in October 2023, when a resident of Gary hand-delivered a suspected fake expungement petition to state police officers.
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resident → begin → officers
A check of the records showed that the unique identification number on the man's completion letter belonged to someone else.
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number → show → someone
Court clerks in Lake and Porter counties also confirmed that they had no records matching the case numbers or the man's name listed in the documents.
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they → confirm → documents
Court records cited by Region News Source state that Textor worked as a legal secretary at the Merrillville law firm Weiss, Schmidgall, and Hires.
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Textor → cite → firm
Investigators believe the alleged scheme took place between November 2019 and October 2025.
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scheme → believe → November
The police affidavit describes a pattern of suspected financial wrongdoing involving cash, credit cards and mobile payment apps.
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affidavit → describe → cash
In one case, a client paid Textor a $1,000 cash retainer in November 2019 and later made additional payments.
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client → pay → payments
The law firm's accounting records showed small filing fees, but the $1,000 cash payment did not appear in the company's records.
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payment → show → records
The receipt book linked to the payment was also missing.
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book → link → payment
Textor allegedly used her personal electronic payment accounts to divert money that was meant for the law firm.
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that → use → firm
According to police records: One client provided debit card details for a $375 retainer payment.
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client → accord → payment
However, only $24.84 was processed through the firm's official system, while $350.16 was sent directly to Textor's personal PayPal account.
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350.16 → process → account
Another client made a $1,000 debit card payment.
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client → make → payment
Of that amount, $37.58 went to the firm, while $962.42 was transferred to Textor's PayPal account.
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962.42 → go → account
A third client paid $850 through Cash App after Textor identified the account as the firm's official business account.
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Textor → pay → account
Lawyers at Weiss, Schmidgall, and Hires told investigators that the firm had never opened or approved business accounts on PayPal or Cash App.
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firm → tell → PayPal
They also said the firm did not accept legal fees through either service.
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firm → say → service
Serious consequences for clients who trusted the documents
The fake legal filings had serious effects on clients who believed their criminal records had been cleared or their driving privileges restored.
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privileges → trust → clients
In one case reported by Region News Source, a client paid $850 to resolve a driving suspension.
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client → report → suspension
Textor told her she would email the court to deal with the matter.
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she → tell → matter
The woman did not know that her licence was still suspended.
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licence → know → ?
Police later pulled her over in Valparaiso, Munster and Lowell.
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Police → pull → Valparaiso
Her vehicle was impounded after each stop.
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vehicle → impound → stop
In August 2023, an automatic licence plate reader flagged her vehicle, leading to her arrest on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court.
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reader → flag → court
She spent time in the Lake County Jail before being transferred to the Porter County Jail.
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She → spend → Jail
Her total financial losses reached $2,210.
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losses → reach → 2,210
Another client received an order granting special driving privileges that carried a judge's stamped signature.
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that → receive → signature
The judge later told police investigators that the signature stamp had been used without the judge's knowledge or permission.
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stamp → tell → knowledge
Missing files and forged signatures uncovered
During a search of the law office, state police detectives found four large reusable shopping bags hidden in an upstairs storage area.
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detectives → miss → area
Inside, investigators discovered missing law firm accounting records, client files and the missing receipt book covering cash payments from 2019.
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investigators → discover → 2019
The bags also contained documents presented as expungement orders bearing another client's name.
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bags → contain → name
Investigators also found a spiral notebook with handwritten credit card numbers, expiration dates and security codes.
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Investigators → find → numbers
Judges whose names appeared on various expungement petitions told detectives that they had not signed or approved the documents given to clients.
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they → appear → clients
The law firm also reported an unpaid balance of $2,172.92 on a company Staples credit card.
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firm → report → card
Some purchases were for ordinary office supplies, but police noted that the charges also included two iPad minis and personal items that Textor was not authorised to buy.
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Textor → note → that
Criminal charges filed
State prosecutors formally filed 45 charges against Textor in Lake County on October 14, 2026.
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prosecutors → file → October
According to court filings reported by Region News Source, the charges include:
- Five Level 5 felony counts of fraud against a financial institution.
- Thirteen Level 6 felony counts of forgery with intent to defraud.
- Two Level 6 felony counts of counterfeiting.
- Fifteen Level 6 felony counts of fraud under various legal provisions that increase the severity of the charges.
- Seven Level 6 felony counts of theft involving amounts between $750 and $50,000.
- One Class A misdemeanor count of fraud.
- Two Class A misdemeanor counts of theft.
Indiana State Police released a public statement thanking the dozens of affected victims, local court clerks, financial institutions and the law firm Weiss, Schmidgall, and Hires for helping with the investigation.
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Police → accord → investigation
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
