A former Camp Thurman executive director will stand trial Nov. 5 after he allegedly misused the camp’s funds.
The state alleges that Blake Bowman used the Arlington-based summer camp’s funds to pay for personal expenses between January 2021 and October 2022.
Bowman, who was the executive director at the Christian camp for eight years, was charged with misapplication of property as a fiduciary and theft of property, each equal to or more than $300,000.
Misapplication of property as a fiduciary and theft of property are both first-degree felonies in Texas if said property is valued at $300,000 or more.
A conviction on each charge could carry a punishment of 5 to 99 years in prison, along with fines.
Bowman’s lawyer and Camp Thurman leadership did not respond to requests for a comment. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Bowman allegedly used credit cards intended for camp expenses to pay personal expenses and connected his PayPal account to Camp Thurman’s bank account to transfer money out, according to court filings.
Court filings show the prosecutors entered transactions from a Capital One account, a JPMorgan Chase account and a PayPal account into evidence in February. The transactions totaled approximately $1 million, $120,000 and $110,000, respectively. It is unclear how much the state alleges Bowman stole and misapplied.
The state also notified Bowman’s defense attorney of evidence from Camp Thurman and OnlyFans, an adult-subscription service, according to a February 2025 court filing.
In a June 27 filing, the district attorney’s office said it learned during a witness meeting with Camp Thurman leadership that Bowman made payments to the camp amounting to around $2,800 between March 2024 and May 2025. The filings did not disclose what the payments were for.
Bowman was initially indicted in April 2024 and arrested after a warrant was issued in May 2024. He posted bail, but was reindicted in January 2025 with new information about the embezzlement allegations.
Bowman took a job at Weatherford ISD as a 4th-grade teacher in late 2022, where he worked until May 2023, the district confirmed.
Later that year, he took a job as a teacher at Burleson ISD. An elementary school website lists Bowman on its staff.
Burleson ISD spokesperson Katelyn Tyler did not directly confirm Bowman’s employment.
“We do have a Blake Bowman who works for us. He’s been here since 2023,” Tyler said in a statement.
He still teaches with the district as of the time of writing, a district official confirmed.
Bowman’s state board teacher certification was last renewed in 2022 and will expire in 2028, according to the board’s certification website.
His certification is under review by the Texas Education Investigations Division, the Texas Education Agency confirmed, but said it could not comment further as the investigation is active.
Chris Moss is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@fortworthreport.org.
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