Texas teacher and husband arrested in home renovation scheme, accused of gambling away over $1M of clients’ money

HOUSTON – A Texas teacher and her husband are in custody, accused of taking thousands of dollars from home renovation clients and gambling away over $1M they took for work they never finished.

Aleck Steven Miller, 55, and Andrea Pierce Miller, 52, were contracted to complete home renovation projects across several Texas towns close to Houston. Investigators say the couple pocketed tens of thousands of dollars in payments for the work.

The Millers stopped responding to concerned homeowners and even came up with outlandish excuses to explain not completing the work, including telling clients that Aleck suffered a heart attack. In reality, detectives discovered the two were spending big at multiple casinos across the country.

Andrea Miller teaches Career and Technical Education in the Katy Independent School District.

“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 school district said after Miller’s arrest.

Ria and Rohan Krishna say they are two of the Millers’ victims. Aleck was hired to install a covered patio and extra driveway lane at their Friendswood home last October.

The Krishnas invested $18,000 into the project only to have their driveway unfinished and in complete disarray. A concrete crew stopped work when their check from the Millers bounced.

Additional victims have come forward claiming the Millers took a total of $87,125 from them, according to court records.

The couple is accused of spending $1.53 million at gaming tables and slot machines, during the timeframe victims claimed they were paying for unfinished work.

Aleck Miller was also wanted on two other felony theft charges for similar allegations dating back to 2022, records show.