Baseball club ex-treasurer charged with embezzlement in Washington

Prosecutors said a Sammamish man in charge of the finances of a local baseball club bilked tens of thousands of dollars from the organization for pornography, rental cars and a consultation with a psychic.Charles Leinas, 45, faces a first-degree theft charge in King County Superior Court, after prosecutors said he stole more than $21,000 from the Spartan Baseball Club, a select baseball club for teenagers.Leinas could not be reached for comment. He is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 7. Leinas had been arrested Feb. 2 and charged Sept. 23.In January, Leinas served as the club’s treasurer and club President Robert Rosemont became concerned because the club’s bank account was overdrawn, charging documents state.Rosemont asked Leinas — who had control over a debit card and checkbook for the account — about the shortfall, but Leinas said the club had a deposit coming through soon to cover the expenses.Rosemont looked at the club’s bank statements and was surprised to find several questionable withdrawals and checks written to Leinas, court documents said.The purchases included mobile phone charges of more than $600, $17.50 to an Xbox Live account, $20 to an Internet psychic, more than $100 to a pornographic website and $71 to the Pacific Science Center.Nearly $4,000 in checks had been made out to Leinas, but he could not provide documentation indicating what the money was for, court documents state.Other club leaders confronted Leinas about the charges, and he agreed to resign. He later told investigators that he and Rosemount had made a verbal agreement that he would be paid for services to the club “outside the scope of his duties as treasurer,” the documents. Rosemount said no such agreement had been made.After resigning, Leinas offered to pay the club back, but later sent them a letter saying he only owed them a little more than $1,000 after his hours of work for the club were taken into account.

Clyde Hill, Washington PTSA exec charged with embezzlement

The former treasurer of a Bellevue-area school booster program has been charged with felony theft following allegations that he embezzled $63,000 from the parent-teacher association.

In charging documents, prosecutors claim James "David" Glass bilked the Chinook Middle School PTSA out of the money during the fall of 2009.
Glass, 52, literally drained the organization's bank account through cash withdrawals, as well as payments to his wife and company, a Clyde Hill police officer investigating the case told the court.
As PTSA treasurer, Glass had oversight over the organization's bank accounts, Officer Di Alexander said in court documents. The thefts became known only when the organization received a bank statement showing that an account that should have held $30,000 to $40,000 had dipped to $400.
Confronted by the board, Glass apologized, resigned and paid back the money, Alexander told the court.
"Glass said that he knew that taking the money from the PTSA account was wrong and illegal, because he investigates embezzling schemes for a living," Alexander told the court.
"He told the board that his financial situation had hit 'rock bottom' and that he intended to pay back the full amount missing once that amount was determined."
Charged with first-degree theft, Glass is scheduled to enter a plea May 19. He has not been jailed in the case.

Washington Parent-Teacher Association fears theft bigger than first thought

Members of the Parent-Teacher Student Association here say a former volunteer already accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the organization may have stolen much more than first thought.

"We went down to the bank and we were shocked to see that what we thought was in the bank was not," said Angie Lampkin, co-president of the PTSA.
In November the group discovered more than $58,000 missing from their accounts. Now the group says it looks like thousands of dollars more are gone.
And they learned the embezzlement has been going on much longer than they initially suspected.
In a letter, the PTSA's former treasurer, David Glass, apologized and said he acted out of "sheer personal desperation."
Parents say he used the money to bail out his personal business.
The PTSA board felt was willing to forgive and reconcile with him.
But now they claim records show money missing from as far back as August, 2008 -- almost a full year before Glass claimed he hit rock bottom.
And the PTSA says this wasn't just money taken from bank accounts. In some cases, they say, money was taken directly from school fundraisers, like the time students made several thousand dollars selling cupcakes. That money was taken right out of the till and never deposited.
"I'm angry," said PTSA co-president Anne Medzegian. "I am angry that it's been a lot of work for us to pick up the pieces, and he has not been forthcoming with a lot of the information."
Medzegian and Lampkin said Glass has repaid $45,000. But now they say even if he pays all of it back, they still want him arrested.
Clyde Hill police are investigating the allegations.


The PTSA says they have enough money in the bank to continue programs and grants at the school.



They say they've already taken steps to make sure it doesn't happen again.