HOUSTON – A judge found no probable cause to charge a Katy ISD teacher in a construction theft scheme she and her husband were both initially accused of, and Andrea Miller’s attorney says she is also a victim in the case.
Aleck Stephen Miller, 55, and Andrea Pierce Miller, 52, were arrested last Thursday, accused of gambling away money paid by home renovation clients for work that was never started or never finished.
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In court today, a judge raised Aleck Miller’s bond to $110K after a new theft charge was added and found no probable cause to charge Andrea Miller.
“The judge found no probable cause on Mrs. Miller’s case, which means she did not believe that there is enough evidence for the case to go forward at this point, explained Assistant District Attorney Valerie Turner who is Chief of Consumer Fraud.
“We have the option as the state, to present the case to a grand jury. If she is true-billed, the warrant will reissue and she will be making court dates at that point.”
Andrea Miller’s attorney said she is also a victim.
“In this case, there appears to be, what appears to be a somewhat strong case against her husband,” said defense attorney Murray Newman. “But there wasn’t a lot of evidence that indicated Mrs. Miller had any knowledge of what her husband was doing or had any involvement in the thefts alleged and she’s pretty much a victim in this as well.”
Newman said he understands why the District Attorney’s Office would think his client was involved but also believes he can prove otherwise.
“There were some indications that there was a cellphone that was being responded to that was purporting to be her. I believe we can show the District Attorney’s Office if they’re willing to listen, that was not actually her the person on the other end of that line, but her husband using a phone that was in her name,” Newman said, adding, “My client is an outstanding teacher with an immaculate record out of Katy. Her name has been drug through the mud on this on behalf of her husband. She’s been through a lot. I don’t think she plans a future with him any longer. and she’s very upset about all of this because understandably her name has been besmirched.”
Aleck Miller is accused of taking money from four victims, including an elderly client, according to the prosecutor. Turner says Miller only partially completed work for one of the victims.
Investigators say Aleck Miller’s construction company pocketed tens of thousands of dollars in payments for home renovation projects across Katy, Friendswood, Sugar Land and Cypress, and the jobs were never completed.
According to clients KPRC 2 spoke with, Miller stopped responding to concerned homeowners and even came up with excuses to explain not completing the work, including telling clients that Aleck had a heart attack. In reality, detectives discovered Miller was spending big at multiple casinos across the country.
Andrea Miller works as a teacher in Katy Independent School District. The district confirmed she was a Career and Technical Education teacher at Martha Raines Academy.
Katy ISD released a statement regarding the situation last Thursday:
“Upon learning of the allegations that are unrelated to the district, the individual has not been returned to the classroom or campus. The district is addressing this as a personnel matter,” the statement read.
Ria and Rohan Krishna say they are two of Miller’s victims. Aleck was hired to install a covered patio and extra driveway lane at their Friendswood home last October.
After the Krishnas invested $18,000 into the project, their driveway was left unfinished and in complete disarray. A concrete crew came to work for a couple days but stopped when their check from Millers bounced.
Additional victims have come forward to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and claimed Miller took a total of $87,125 from them, according to court records.
Miller allegedly spent $1.53 million at the Golden Nugget Casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on gaming tables and slot machines, during the timeframe in which victims claimed they were losing money and not getting any work done.
One of the conditions of his bail is that until his trial, he can no longer run his own construction company. He is allowed to work for another construction company but can’t touch any money coming in from customers.
Aleck Miller was also wanted on two other felony theft charges for similar allegations dating back to 2022, records show.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is asking for anyone who had business dealings with Aleck Miller to call the Financial Crimes Unit at 713-274-9118.