CFO jailed 10 years for $100K gambling theft

**Former Discovery Science Place CFO Sentenced to 10 Years for Embezzlement**

TYLER, Texas – A Bullard woman was sentenced to 10 years in state prison today, February 25, 2026, for stealing over $100,000 from the Discovery Science Place, a non-profit museum in Tyler. Pamela S. Jones, 57, who served as the museum's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), received the sentence in the 241st District Court in Tyler.

Jones was found to have embezzled $103,467.54 from the Discovery Science Place (www.discoveryscienceplace.org) over a period spanning from January 2017 to June 2023. Court proceedings revealed she funneled the funds to support a gambling addiction.

Presiding Judge Austin Jackson ordered Jones to pay full restitution of $103,467.54 to the Discovery Science Place.

Smith County District Attorney Jacob Putman (www.smithcounty.org/da) confirmed that Jones also pleaded guilty to a separate federal charge of money laundering, for which she received a 60-month (five-year) federal prison sentence. This federal sentence will run concurrently with her 10-year state sentence, meaning she will not serve additional time beyond the state-imposed term.

The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the FBI (www.fbi.gov) and the Tyler Police Department (www.tylerpolice.com). Assistant District Attorneys Lindsey Ashley and Jacob Permenter handled the prosecution for the state.

Jones is scheduled to surrender on April 25, 2026, to begin serving her sentence.