A former treasurer for Vista Pop Warner Football and Cheer was sentenced Tuesday to a year in jail and five years probation for embezzling more than $100,000 from the organization’s accounts.
Rachel Marie Owens, 42, was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $114,395.
The defendant, a math teacher at Guajome Park Academy, was the volunteer treasurer for Vista Pop Warner Football and Cheer from October 2013 to November of last year.
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 nonprofit organization, according to Lt. Greg Rylaarsdam.
Authorities said Owens stole about $101,000 by writing checks to herself and pocketed another $14,000 in cash from league fundraisers.
Deputy District Attorney Anna Winn said Owens spent the cash on household debt and living expenses.
Owens was jailed Feb. 24 after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She pleaded guilty last month to five charges, including grand theft and identity theft.
–City News Service
