The former leader of a Conroe testing lab and two others pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge and admitted to falsifying dozens of test results to make wastewater appear clean enough to discharge into Texas waterways.
Derek McCoy appeared before U.S. District Judge David Hittner on Thursday with two co-defendants — his former employee Deena Higginbotham, and his former client John Montgomery, who worked as a compliance coordinator for more than two dozen water boards.
For years, McCoy and Higginbotham faked test results for Montgomery through a “backdoor” in the lab’s digital system that hid the changes from authorities.
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“Normally if you were to change test results, you would create a paper trail that would be auditable,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan H. Stopper told Hittner in court. The backdoor system avoided that visibility.
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The judge asked Stopper to clarify whether the tested water, which showed elevated levels of E. coli and other contaminants, went to people’s taps. Stopper said any contaminants that made their way into municipal drinking water sources would first pass through additional filtration systems.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office initially accused the defendants of conspiracy, but all three signed a plea agreement that reduced the charge. They each acknowledged making or causing 36 falsifications “related to the treatment and discharge of wastewater and of other information required to be maintained by the Clean Water Act.”
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Between 2021 and 2024, when the 36 results were changed, McCoy was Chief Executive Officer of Conroe-based North Water District Laboratory Services, Inc., while Higginbotham directed its client services.
“Beginning in or around 2021, Higginbotham, McCoy, and Montgomery communicated via email, telephone, and electronic text messages to identify test results that needed alteration. McCoy and Higginbotham would then use an electronic remote desktop program and another database to alter particular test results,” the original indictment alleged.
Most of the altered test results affected Harris County, including 14 high E. coli readings and 13 high specific oxygen uptake rates, a measure of microbial activity. Other falsified discharge measurements were in Fort Bend, Montgomery, Hays and Comal counties.
After learning of the government’s investigation in 2024, McCoy stepped down from his role to safeguard the laboratory’s reputation, according to his lawyer, Gary Tabakman.
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“Mr. McCoy deeply regrets his actions and understands the significance of the conduct that led to today’s plea,” Tabakman said.
Federal prosecutors declined to answer questions outside the hearing about the case.
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In a statement, Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck lauded the investigation, saying the guilty pleas showed that the federal government was “committed to rooting out and holding accountable those who not only violate the law but also endanger the safety and erode the trust of the public we serve.”
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Hittner, the district judge, accepted the pleas. All three defendants, for whom the felony is a first-time offense, will remain out on bail until their sentencing hearing on Sept. 3. They could each face up to two years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.