Two former board members of the North Surry Little League Football and Cheer organization allegedly have been charged with embezzlement related to their work for the organization, according to an officer with the group.
North Surry Little League Football and Cheer President Colton Hoehn said the group issued a statement last week in the interests of transparency to alleviate any concerns of parents or boosters of the youth sports and cheer group following the discoveries in their financial review.
Hoehn would not release the names of those allegedly charged, and attempts to corroborate his statement and to get additional information from the Surry County Sheriff’s Office were not immediately successful.
“Board members with North Surry Little League Football and Cheer initiated an audit of our bank records due to recent changes in leadership, including the transition of the presidency and other key positions,” the statement released by the group said.
“During the audit, which covered the past two years, several discrepancies were identified in our bank statements. In light of these findings, board members promptly reached out to the Surry County Sheriff’s Office to report the inconsistencies.”
Hoehn gave more information. “We have reviewed two years’ worth of bank statements to identify any discrepancies. I can confirm board members went further than the two years and beyond those two years no discrepancies were located by our board members.”
During the transition Hoehn said he, “Wanted to confirm financial integrity and accuracy was maintained prior to taking over the position. Board members did the audit and noticed issues within the bank statements and questionable expenditures.”
“We can confirm that two former board members have been charged with embezzlement. However, we are unable to disclose further details regarding the amounts involved or the nature of the transactions, as those matters are still being investigated,” he said.
“While we fully recognize the importance of transparency and communication within our community is crucial to understand that this is an open investigation, which limits the extent of information we can provide at this time. We trust the Surry County Sheriff’s Office to handle the specifics of the investigation, and we do not wish to interfere in any way,” Hoehn said.
“Directly following this audit board members contacted the Sheriff’s Office for a report and investigation,” he said. “We promptly obtained bank records, reviewed them with board members, and notified law enforcement on the same day.”
On a social media reply to the group’s announcement of the audit and its findings last week, one area resident suggested, “It would be worth the extra expense to hire an accountant not affiliated with the organization to manage all funds.”
“Rest assured that we are taking this matter seriously. We have now implemented security measures to prevent any similar issues in the future. Specifically, we now require that a minimum of two Board members are designated on the bank account and audits done annually,” he explained.
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