UPDATE: Two former WRALL staffers arrested
Joseph Stella is facing 26 felony counts of theft by taking and four counts felony identity fraud.
He bonded out of jail.
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The Houston County Sheriff’s Office arrested one of the people accused of collecting more than $10,000 from the Warner Robins American Little League.
According to the jail’s website, the league’s former president, Darin McDowell, turned himself into deputies on Wednesday. He was released on a $6,500 bond. McDowell is charged with six counts of felony theft by taking. Authorities claim he used a league credit card to make personal purchases.
Another league employee, Joseph Stella, is expected to be taken into custody tomorrow. Stella is charged with 26 counts of felony theft by taking and four counts of identity fraud. His bond is set at $15,000.
The Houston County Sheriff’s Office is investigating more than $10,000 missing and unauthorized credit card purchases from the Warner Robins American Little League.
The league’s current president, Clifford Rushin, and treasurer, Carrie O’Brien, filed the incident report on Saturday.
According to the report, three people have credit cards issued to them by the Warner Robins American Little League. They are to be used on “purchases for the fields and other items that are agreed on by the sitting Warner Robins American Little League board members.” The report states former vice-president of softball Darin McDowell and former president of the Warner Robins American Little League Joseph Stella each have a credit card.
O’Brien stated in the report she noticed the missing money and unauthorized credit card purchases after reviewing prior purchases with the board that were made on the cards by both McDowell and Stella. The sheriff’s office says the unauthorized purchases were made at the Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Kathleen and Dunkin Donuts.
According to the report, O’Brien also found more than $10,000 missing. She said when they discovered the missing money, the board met and decided to ban McDowell and Stella from all Warner Robins American Little League events for life and that they would allow 30 days to pay restitution.
Rushin stated they notified the National Little League Headquarters in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The report states Roman Jones, the district administrator, questioned Stella about the charges. The report states “Mr. Rushin said he was told by Mr. Jones that Mr. Stella admitted to using the credit card to purchase items for his residence and renovations.”
Rushin says in the report he spoke to the Houston County district attorney who advised him to file a report.
According to the Houston County jail website, McDowell or Stella have not been arrested.
41NBC reached out to Rushin for comment. He released the following statement:
Warner Robins American Little League has a long and successful history of serving our community. We are proud of what our children have accomplished over the years, and the Board of Directors takes all aspects of our work seriously.
Recently, the Board began an internal investigation into allegations that two of our Board members misappropriated funds in multiple ways for their personal gain. As a result of the investigation, the Board made a decision to turn the matter over to the Houston County Sheriff’s Department to investigate this matter further, and this matter is now in their hands. Furthermore, both members have resigned from their positions on the Board and have been subsequently banned from Warner Robins American Little League. We will not be able to address any specific questions until the investigation is complete.
Since learning of the situation, and in order to protect WRALL for the long term, we have made several improvements, including the strengthening of our financial verification and tracking procedures. The expenditures in question will not hinder our operations and commitment in any way.
Warner Robins American will continue to promote an atmosphere of integrity, teamwork and sportsmanship. We remain committed to the development and growth of our youth and the community.
41NBC also reached out to McDowell and Stella at the numbers listed on the incident report. McDowell has not returned our call and the number for Stella was disconnected.
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