Shocking allegations concerning an official of the Coal Grove Little League. Members of the organization say other officials stole as much as $30,000 intended to support youth baseball.
Little League Vice President Frank Delawder told officers they’d discovered that past treasurers were involved in an embezzling scheme. He told officers they had proof in the form of bank statements, online statements, and ATM transactions.
He said one of the people believed to have been involved initially refused to provide the statements. The estimated value of the missing money is between $15,000 and $30,000.
Deputies forwarded the information to detectives.
In a statement, the organization said, “Through the notification of an unrelated third party, Coal Grove Little League {Baseball, Softball & Tee Ball} (CGLL) was made aware that our treasurer may have been associated with embezzlement. CGLL and District 11 Little League Baseball began a review and have uncovered accounting improprieties and at this point have turned over their investigation to Detectives for a full investigation.
Due to the ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment on specifics at this time. However, we are heartbroken over the loss of funds dedicated to the children of our community. We are working hard to regain your trust and require the support of our wonderful and resilient community moving forward so that our kids may continue to play and make lifelong memories enjoying the friendships and fun that Little League Baseball, Softball, and Tee Ball can provide.
As part of our rebirth, the previous officers have either stepped down or been removed and new officers were installed by District 11 at our most recent meeting.
At a time like this CGLL will more than ever need the help of dedicated volunteers who wish to right the ship and see that the Little League experience can continue, better than ever, for our children.
We are sorry we have failed our duty to monitor our treasury but will not rest until justice is served and we restore and maintain our Little League for our community’s children into the future.
Thank you and we hope to see you join us in being part of the solution.”
