A former treasurer for Vista Pop Warner Football and Cheer pleaded not guilty Thursday to 25 felony charges, including grand theft and identity theft, for allegedly embezzling more than $100,000 from the organization’s accounts.
Rachel Marie Owens, 41, was ordered held on $300,000 bail.
She was arrested Wednesday at Guajome Park Academy, where she teaches math, and faces 18 years in state prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Anna Winn.
Owens was the treasurer for Vista Pop Warner Football and Cheer from October 2013 to November of last year, said sheriff’s Lt. Greg Rylaarsdam. Around the time she left, the sheriff’s department’s Cyber Financial Crimes Unit began investigating a report of possible embezzlement of funds from the organization, he said.
“Detectives determined there was probable cause to believe Owens was responsible for the theft of over $100,000 from the accounts she managed,” Rylaarsdam said, and obtained a warrant for her arrest.
Winn placed the amount of loss at $115,000.
A readiness conference was scheduled for March 7 and a preliminary hearing for March 10.
–City News Service
