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Taking candy from babies: youth-group theft

Some volunteers see clubs' funds as easy pickings

By Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 31, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated December 31, 2007 at 9:59 a.m.

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An eight-year-old sousaphone is still on the job in Lakewood. Carrie Bindner, ex-treasurer for the Lakewood Performing Arts Council, was sentenced to jail time with work release for theft.

Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

An eight-year-old sousaphone is still on the job in Lakewood. Carrie Bindner, ex-treasurer for the Lakewood Performing Arts Council, was sentenced to jail time with work release for theft.

During band practice at Lakewood High, a student plays a baritone saxophone owned by the school that is 40-plus years old. More than $50,000 was stolen from a music booster group there.

Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

During band practice at Lakewood High, a student plays a baritone saxophone owned by the school that is 40-plus years old. More than $50,000 was stolen from a music booster group there.

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They are moms and dads of children who play baseball, football and march in the school band.

Many pitch in to help their children's teams or clubs, donating time, talents or both.

But a fraction of them take far more than they give.

In the past decade, at least a dozen Denver-area parents have been accused or convicted of stealing from organizations their children belong to. The amounts range from a few thousand dollars to six figures.

A Lakewood mom was recently sentenced to two years in jail with work release for stealing more than $50,000 from a music booster group at Lakewood High School.

A volunteer secretary-treasurer for two Denver youth hockey leagues spent a year in prison for taking more than $111,000 in 2000.

In May, a former treasurer of the parent-teacher organization for Willow Creek Elementary School in Centennial received probation. Heather Williams was also ordered to pay back $55,000, court records indicate.

Such thefts are rare. Most parents who volunteer are tireless workers who would never think of stealing.

But a small number with access to a club's treasury treat it as a personal bank account, taking hard-earned cash collected by children and parents who hit the pavement to sell candy, baked goods, discount cards and concessions.

"This usually occurs when people put trust into one person and there are no checks and balances," said Chief Denver District Attorney Joe Morales. "One person is in control and no one is watching them. Nobody thinks you will steal from a bunch of kids.

"So they are left on an island all by themselves with a checking account they control and nobody ever looks at. They start borrowing a little extra cash, then more. Eventually, they don't know how much they took, and then it's all gone.

"It starts out as an interest-free loan and turns into a crime."

'It got too big'

Carrie Bindner had been treasurer of the Lakewood Performing Arts Council for several years when the group learned that more than $50,000 was missing from the account.

"I don't think she intentionally came into this to steal from the organization, but she had access to the money," said Doug Harris, music director at Lakewood High School.

"She started using it to pay a little here and there and it got too big, to the point where she didn't realize how much she had taken."

The thefts took place from January 2003 to May 2005, but the problem wasn't discovered until July 2006, after Bindner's two sons graduated and she had moved to another state. The group learned $30,000 in bills for previous music trips hadn't been paid.

A closer look at the accounts revealed that Bindner had set up direct Internet payment for her own bills from the account and had written more than $38,000 in checks for cash, prosecutors said. She also used the account to pay for private music lessons for her sons, they said.

At one point, the balance dropped to $79, said Lesley Gray, president of the Lakewood Performing Arts Council.

"I trusted her implicitly," she said. "She was the ultimate volunteer. She was there for everything. In spite of the fact that she is a thief, I still think she was wonderful."

But Prosecutor Ann Stavig sees things differently.

"As far as we can tell, she wrote the first check a week after she got the job," she said.

"It almost seemed she wanted to be treasurer so she could do this."

Like most high school music programs, Lakewood is strapped for money to buy new instruments, and $50,000 would have made a big dent in the school's needs, Harris said.

"According to court records, she's supposed to pay it all back, but we haven't gotten anything, and we don't know if we will," he said.

Cub Scout pack a victim

Tricia McVay, 26, is accused of stealing from her son's Cub Scout pack in Littleton to help pay bills.

She allegedly cashed a $1,000 check to pay the rent for the home from which they were eventually evicted. She is also suspected of skimming $1,263 from $4,101 in popcorn sales for Pack 459, according to court files.

The money went missing at the same time the pack "adopted" her family last Christmas, giving them gifts and food.

McVay is to appear in Jefferson County District Court in January on charges of felony theft.

Pack 459 wouldn't have been able to give trophies and medallions to winners of last spring's Pinewood Derby if a Littleton trophy firm hadn't donated them.

In 2003, the coach for a youth football team in Montbello spent $8,500 that parents gave him so their sons could go to Las Vegas for a tournament, according to prosecutors and court files.

The boys, including the coach's son, were waiting with their bags packed for the chartered bus when coach Edward Johnson III failed to show up.

Parents came up with more money for the 15-hour bus ride to Las Vegas, but then learned that the hotel and tournament fees also hadn't been paid.

Johnson never showed up, and parents had to foot the bill for the bus to return the disappointed team to Denver without playing.

"I thought, 'This just can't be happening,' " said Loretta Tipton-Perry, a parent who accompanied the team to Las Vegas.

"It would have been bad enough if the kids found out the trip was canceled before they left," she said. "But once they got there, they were so excited. They could see the football field where they would be playing, and then they had to be told their coach had taken off with all the money."

Johnson was given a deferred sentence and ordered to pay back $8,500.

Tipton-Perry said she never got her money back and doesn't think anyone else did, either.

She said it was especially sad that Johnson's son was placed in the middle of it, riding the bus to and from Las Vegas with devastated teammates and their parents.

"He was their coach, a role model, someone they looked up to," she said. "How could you do this to these kids? To your own son?"

Julie Ann Ernest left two hockey clubs in shambles in 2000 after they discovered $111,000 was missing from the leagues. Her two sons were active in the clubs.

Ernest left unpaid debts to rink operators, referees, T-shirt vendors and others.

She served as secretary-treasurer for the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association and the Mountain and Plains Youth Hockey Association. She resigned in 1999 and moved to Texas after new board members questioned her accounting practices. She served a year in prison.

"Ultimately, the kids pay the price," Mountain and Plains board member John Rodell said.

Missing funds totaling more than $8,000 from Golden High School's Quarterback Club caused the school to scrap plans for its annual football camp in Glenwood Springs this summer because there was no money to pay for the bus and other costs, club officials said. The team conducted its camp in Golden. The Jefferson County district attorney is still investigating that case, and no charges have been filed.

'Implicit trust'

Stealing from such groups can be especially devastating because parent volunteers are trusted.

"There is an implicit trust you don't have even with an employee, because they are doing it for the kids," said Denver lawyer Tony Leffert, who represents several youth-sports organizations in Jefferson County.

Some volunteers aren't used to handling large sums of money in a trust situation, he said. Much it comes in as cash, presenting a temptation for a few.

"Normally, these people have gotten in over their head financially and have no place to turn," said Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey. "They rob Peter to pay Paul with the intention of paying it back, but they don't."

Some say stealing from youth organizations is the worst kind of theft. Parents know how hard they and their children work to raise money for these groups.

"Sports have gotten more and more expensive, and it's very difficult for some parents to have their kids do sports because of the cost," Leffert said. "There are all these fundraisers, and every year the fees go up. So to have someone who steals money from these groups, it's pretty hard for a lot of parents to take."

The most important thing a group can do to avoid theft is to make sure that more than one person regularly looks at the books and knows what is going on, prosecutors said.

Groups should require two signatures on checks.

But this alone isn't a safeguard, experts say, because a determined thief can forge the second signature.

"If someone intends to steal money, they will find a way to do it," Leffert said.

Playing it safe

Prosecutors recommend these steps for helping to prevent thefts from organizations:

* Have several people review bank accounts, statements and returned checks each month.

* Make sure financial statements prepared by the treasurer match bank statements.

* Open the group's books for anyone to review.

* Require two signatures on checks.

* Do background checks on officers.

* Check out unusual transactions.

* Never sign blank checks.

Caught preying on youth groups

Some cases of parents accused of stealing from their children's organizations:

* May 1997 - Ruth Anne Chichester is sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to pay $6,148 in restitution to the Gilpin Elementary School PTA.

* February 1998 - Ronald Jennings is sentenced to eight years of probation and ordered to pay $34,000 in restitution to the Golden-Applewood Junior Baseball Association.

* July 2000 - Julie Ann Ernest is sentenced to prison for stealing $111,000 from the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association and Mountain and Plains Youth Hockey Association while serving as secretary-treasurer.

* November 2005 - Edward Johnson III receives a deferred sentence and is ordered to pay $8,500 in restitution to parents who paid for the Montbello Falcons football team's trip to Las Vegas for a tournament.

* May 2007 - Tricia McVay is charged in connection with the theft of more than $2,200 from Cub Scout Pack 459 in Littleton. Her arraignment is Jan. 14.

* May 2007 - Heather Williams is sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to pay $55,000 in restitution to the Parent Teacher Organization for Willow Creek Elementary School.

* September - Carrie Bindner is sentenced to two years of work release and ordered to pay more than $52,000 in restitution for money she stole while treasurer for Lakewood High School's Performing Arts Council.

* December - Sheila Lamotte ordered to write an apology to boys in Cub Scout Pack 815 in Morrison for stealing more than $2,700 from the group. She pleaded guilty to attempted theft Dec. 10 and was ordered to pay $1,500 in restitution during two years of probation. She has already paid back $500.

lindsays@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5181

Comments

  • December 31, 2007

    10:11 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    vudumom writes:

    I think this is a problem that could be easily solved by having someone oversee and audit these accounts.That is easily done.
    I do think about 10 cases in 10 years is really a weak story. I would like to see the numbers of coaches,teachers,group leaders etc...who have sexually abused the children ,the parents trust in their care. I think the numbers in a decade would astound the average person who doesn't think things like sexual abuse of children by people in a position of trust is a huge problem.I would like to see a story on those numbers going back a decade. I'll wager its in the hundreds maybe a thousand in the past decade.
    I'd rather see some money stolen than a child's trust and future.

  • December 31, 2007

    1:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    teacher5000 writes:

    I prefer not to see money or trust stolen!!! Stealing anything from kids who trust you is NEVER OK. As a parent and a teacher sexual abuse of kids sickens me, but the fact that it is worse than stealing money from kids, does not make stealing money somehow less serious.

    This article is not about sexual abuse, it is about parents stealing from their kids. Just becasue they chose to profile 10 cases in 10 years does not mean those are the only ones. I had my Girl Scout troop ripped off two years in a row, buy two seperate parents (collected cookie money and did not turn it in). The amount was so small that Girl Scouts declined to prosecute, but the behavior is still gross.

    Also, if you are going to make a list of sexual predators lets not forget priests and clergy. I think there has been ALOT of attention paid to sexual explotation by people in power (as their should be), but that does not negate the fact that the parents in this article are SCUM.

    I would also like to know where you are finding people who do not think the sexual abuse of children by people in power is a problem. Aside from the Catholic Church (and I do not mean all members) and some judges who hand out laughable sentences to female teachers who abuse kids, I have yet to meet a single person who does not see this as a SERIOUS problem

    Thanks to RMN for running and eye opening story.

  • December 31, 2007

    3:36 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    vudumom writes:

    There is not alot of attention in this state about the sexual predators of all kinds in our fast moving revolving door justice system. Do you realize that Colorado is only one of 7 states that has not passed Jessica's Law. First time 25 years to life sentences for sexual abuse or assault of a child 12 and under. Why not?Boulder released a Violent sexual predator after serving 7 years for raping a 5 year old. He was supposed to be out looking for a job and was living in a halfway house.One of his release guidelines was no pornography. They found some in his possesion within a week he was resentenced to 30 years.You get 7 for raping( their words not mine) a 5 year old and 30 for looking at adult legal pornography. Now tell me what is wrong with this picture?

    This is not a fluke . This is happening everyday in Colorado.

    You want to see how many are in your neighborhood? Go to the CBI website or www.familyjustice.us that site was started by John Walsh.You can see instantly who lives where. You can sign up for e-mail alerts to let you know if one moves in or out of your neighborhood.Colorado has more horror stories than I can even handle.I have been writing letters to our state legislators for years trying to get Jessica's law passed,to no avail. Kids don't vote and parents think it will never happen to their child.

    You need to wake up and smell the injustice when it comes to children in this state.Does the name Naveah ring a bell?Still no charges,still no justice,still no one cares. The man responsible was rearrested for not registering as a sex offender.I guess that's pretty serious even though he probably abused her at the age of 2 and killed her at the age of three.Yeah, people really care in this state.Keep hiding your head in the sand.

  • December 31, 2007

    4:24 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    teacher5000 writes:

    I am not disagreeing with ANYTHING you are saying!!!! I believe I made the comment about pathetic sentences handed out the female teachers who abuse kids, both in this state and others.

    Yes I know who Neveah is. You don't work with kids as long as I have and not know about injustices to children. Believe me sexual abuse is not the ONLY injustice done to children. One of the most serious and debilitaing, but not the only! My point was that the fact that sexual abuse exists does not negate other crimes comitted against children. Again my opening statement was "I do not want to see money or trust stolen".

    Do not take my words to mean that I do not take sexual abuse seriously! This article was not about sexual abuse, it is about theft. Again that is not nearly as serious as sexual abuse, but something that deserves public awareness and discussion.

    We need more crusaders like you! But don't assume that becasue somebody reads and article like this one and is appauled by the actions of the people being reported on that they have their head in the sand or do not care about sexual abuse of children.

    Keep up the good work! And yes I am aware of how to locate sexual predators in my area (I have 2 children). Perhaps it is my line of work, but it seems like I hear about and talk about child abuse everyday, so my perception may be wrong, but I do think people are aware of it and appauled by it. Whether or not they are actually doing anything about it is a different story.

    I did not mean to offend you, I found this article very interesting.