Another high school sports embezzlement case: California woman arrested for stealing more than $200,000

Liberty Ranch Athletics Booster Club treasurer booked on felony embezzlement charges with bail was set at $10,000.

A Liberty Ranch High School (Galt, Calif.) Booster Club treasurer has been arrested for stealing more than $200,000 for funds that are supposed to go to its athletic programs. It's the latest in a string of embezzlement cases that pop up regularly among high school sports booster programs throughout the United States. / Photo courtesy of homes.com

Another week, another embezzlement story involving a high school sports boosters organization.

On Friday, a California woman who has been suspected of stealing more than $200,000 from a local high school’s athletic booster fund, was arrested. 

The Sacramento Bee reported Saturday that the Galt police arrested the Liberty Ranch High School Athletic Booster Club treasurer — later identified as Carmela Baker — as the “primary suspect”in the case which was unearthed by a school member who discovered that the money was missing in March. 

The investigation has been ongoing since March when the booster club sued Baker, her husband Paul Lee Baker and 10 unnamed others as co-defendents. Galt is 40 miles South of Sacramento in Northern California.

“Over several months, detectives authored and served multiple search warrants to various businesses, including Costco, Walmart, Amazon, Instacart, and City of Galt utilities,” a Galt Police Department release revealed. “The case is particularly troubling because the impact reaches far beyond the theft itself. It represents a betrayal of trust against an entire community devoted to supporting our Galt youth.’

Boosters support 20 sports, 400 student-athletes

The LRHS Athletic Booster Club supports more than 400 student-athletes participating in about 20 sports. It relies on donations and fundraising to pay for school sports programs and activities. 

Baker, the club’s treasurer since 2022, was taken into custody Friday at a business in Elk Grove without incident, according to the police. She was booked on felony embezzlement charges and bail was set at $10,000. 

According to the March lawsuit, “the defendant began using the debit card issued to her to pay personal expenses. These amounts were small at first and gradually grew over time. (The defendant) was able to conceal the charges by doctoring the ledgers so they would balance out.” 

Recent high school sports embezzlement cases

Embezzlement cases pop up regularly on the high school and youth sports front, throughout the country. 

* A former Poteau (Okla.) High School football coach is accused of embezzling more than $4,600 from McAlester Public Schools, according to recently filed court documents earlier this month. Mazey, now a coach in Texas, has pled not guilty to felony charges.

* Also in March, in Hanover County (Va.), the former president of the Hanover County High School Athletic Boosters was accused of embezzling more than $1,000 from the club. 

• * A Cambria County (Pa.) woman was accused in January of stealing more than $40,000 from the Greater Johnstown High School booster account. 

* Last December in Warren County (Ohio), a woman faced charges and was ordered to have no contact with the Mason Athletic Booster Association after she was indicted on two felony charges of telecommunications fraud and theft. 

* One of the more publicised cases concluded in Nov. of 2023, when former Mililani High School (Honolulu) athletic director Glenn Nitta was placed on four years probation for stealing more than $400,000 from the school’s booster club. 

Parents at the school and community leaders thought that Nitta got off easy. After his sentence, he gave a check for $406,000 to Mililani High School.

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