Lack of mandatory controls, audit requirements, leave youth sports programs open to fraud

Lack of mandatory controls, audit requirements, leave private youth sports programs open to fraud
Written byShawn Cohen

New City Little League President Lon Hofstein spent much of his week on damage control, holding emergency board sessions, contacting vendors and working the bleachers at three baseball games at Zukor Park to calm parents who were rattled by allegations that the league's treasurer had stolen $100,000.

"I assured them that the board of directors is committed to making sure the programs run smoothly," Hofstein said.

The arrest of longtime treasurer Joyce Bidnick, however, shed light on a problem that runs deeply not only in New City, but in nonprofit youth sports programs across the region and nation.

The problem: Many of these locally run programs have little or no financial oversight, minimal reporting requirements and no annual audits.

"In this case, the treasurer was in this position for eight years and had been stealing for eight years," Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said. "Nobody was watching the store, except for the person that was watching the money. There are no controls, and that's the problem."

Little League International, which charters thousands of baseball and softball leagues in the United States with 2.35 million players, issues a manual that recommends ways to prevent fraud, but imposes no requirements on volunteers who run the local leagues.

"The local league is responsible for its finances," Little League International spokesman Chris Downs said. "We don't audit. We leave it in the hands of the local league — the board of directors elected by members of the league — to run their league and be responsible for the operation of their league, including their finances."

The same is true for the national Pop Warner Little Scholars, which oversees youth football programs.

Jon Butler, the executive director of Pop Warner who is also vice president of the National Council of Youth Sports, said theft in youth sports is increasingly common because more volunteers are recognizing how to exploit the lax system.

"I saw that in the news this morning," Butler said Thursday of Bidnick's arrest. "Theft and misuse of funds is a growing problem for all youth sports organizations, and it's a topic of regular discussion at our (NCYS) meetings. It used to be rare that we'd hear of it, either through Pop Warner or NCYS. Now I hear about one problem every week or two nationally. It's a shame because, in most cases, those kids helped raise that money and it goes towards uniforms and equipment to allow them to play in a very wholesome, healthy activity."

One factor that helps make youth sports leagues popular — that they are run exclusively for and by members of the community — is also a primary reason they are ripe for abuse.

"All youth sports organizations are manned by volunteers at the local level," Butler said.

"Frequently, there is not the level of accountability and oversight that you would hope there would be."

Getting experienced volunteers is part of the challenge.

"Many do not have enough (directors) to run their programs," said Joe Sagaria, administrator for the District 18 Little Leagues in Rockland County and Tuxedo in Orange County. "Parents would rather pay the money and not have anything to do with helping out. It's not like in the 1950s and '60s, when the leagues came into existence and participants were interested in volunteering. Parents basically say, 'I'll give you the money, don't bother me.'"

Bidnick, 58, a married mom who had been treasurer since 2003, was charged Tuesday with second-degree larceny, accused of stealing league money by writing checks to herself and to cash without authorization. She is accused of falsifying monthly account balances and reports she gave to the board.

League officials became suspicious and reported her to authorities when Bidnick tried to replace the stolen money, Zugibe said.

She is the second Rockland league treasurer in less than two years to face larceny charges.

Karen Ramos, 43, with the Stony Point Little League, was charged in July 2009 with stealing $156,150 from the organization. She pleaded guilty in June to grand larceny, avoiding prison by repaying the money with the help of her parents.

Dr. Russ Petro, a veterinarian from Stony Point, said he was so upset by that arrest that he chastised his 12-year-old son's Little League coach, who doubles as a board member.

"Geez, don't you have any checks and balances?" he asked the coach.

Petro, who pays a couple of hundred dollars a season so his son can play baseball, said, "I still get a little apprehensive about where the money is going."

Over in White Plains on Friday, Dr. Jeffrey Schoengold hadn't heard of the recent arrest. He was focused on his 10-year-old son, Joe, who was playing third base for the Volcanoes in a game against the Thunder.

"That's my son!" Schoengold, a local dentist, shouted after his son tagged out a runner trying to steal third.

He said he was disappointed someone would steal from youth sports, but acknowledged he has paid no attention to how his Little League money gets spent.

"I have enough trouble figuring the logistics of all the games," said Schoengold, who has four children in the league. "I would hope there's good oversight. With most parents, that's not on our minds. I hope that it does open eyes here, that the right people will be concerned."

Local sports leagues are generally not required by the federal or state government to undergo annual audits because of their size.

"A lot of Little Leagues and youth organizations do not have the level of revenue that requires an independent auditor," said David Ashenfarb, former chairman of the New York State Society of CPAs' nonprofit organizations committee. "That's the first problem or weakness in the system."
While the state Attorney General's Office says it will pursue all allegations of fraud, no one expects the agency will start investigating youth sports on a systematic level. Many leagues don't even have to register with the A.G.'s charities bureau because they make less than $25,000 a year.

"You're not going to get a lot of bang for your buck trying to search out smaller entities that haven't registered," Ashenfarb said.

So the policing of the leagues generally starts within the members themselves. In Stony Point, the board enacted new safeguards after its treasurer was arrested. In New City, Hofstein said his board has just appointed a committee to oversee finances.

There have been no recent reports of serious financial abuse in the sports leagues of Westchester and Putnam counties. Officials say this is at least partly because many of the organizations already institute recommended safeguards, such as requiring two signatures on checks and hiring accountants to audit their books.

"All money that's either taken in or spent is accounted for in a biweekly report," said Chris Cooper, president of the Eastchester Blue Devils, which runs a Pop Warner program. "This way everybody's on the same page."

Al Tarantino, treasurer of the Brewster Little League, said his board reviews all receipts, requires double signatures on checks and hires a CPA to do an annual audit.

"I think every Little League team should be audited every year, because the temptation is there," Tarantino said.

Rockland's district attorney said the abuse that led to two arrests in his county was easily preventable.

"If there were double signatures required, this would never have happened," Zugibe said. "It is within the power of these boards to stop this from happening."

Video of Pop Warner Parents Fighting

Pop Warner Parents Brawl in Front of Children

Here is video of Pop Warner parents brawling in front of their own children.

http://www.break.com/index/pop_warner_parents_brawl.html

You have to give a hand to Pop Warner, which continues to lack organization and discipline at their local chapter levels. All the moneys donated to Pop Warner nationally and this is what the result is in cities? Makes you wonder where the moneys went...

Pop Warner Is a Joke

Peter North
Menifee, CA


Aug 26, 2009

Holy Smokes! This is my sons first year playing Pop Warner and I must say I am not impressed! The first day of practice I was told we had like 5 days to sell crap and come up with money for a fundraiser. Then they make us buy a shirt for practice then a week later they handed out free practice jerseys?? Everything so half-assed. The picture were not on the day they were suppose to be. First game is in 3 days and my son only has his pants that he has to return at the end of the season. WTF are we paying for??$200 and everythng has to be returned at the end of the season. I understand the feild cost money, but not that much! They are freaking milking everybody for every red cent. Come on,, and get your shit toether!After this season my son will be done with Pop Warner! He will be playing Jr. all american next year.Average $$ Flag a football parent has spent..........350.00Average$$ Tackle football parent has spent..........900.00I want to know where all the money is going to.


MPW Sucks
Covina, CA




Nov 7, 2009
I agree with Peter North, my kids will NEVER participate in Pop Warner again. My first mistake was signing them up for Pop Warner instead of All American. The second was "VOLUNTEERING" to coach! I have a large family and one income household. It took planning ahead to add the expense of Pop Warner into our budget...or at least what we thought the expense would be.$325 registration for two kids. But that didn't include any equipment, so add to that $350 for a cheer uniform and $100 for cleats and other various football equipment. Then came the fundraisers,$160 for the mandatory fundraiser, plus we were REQUIRED to have fundraising all season. Opening day (2), candle sales, dinners, find sponsors, and keep going back to friends and relatives with the "gimmes". Then the coach stuff...the coach shirt was $30, CPR card $45, Background check $30, and driving to San Diego for training!!! OVER $1000!!! And, the yearbook they promised us...we didn't SELL enough pages to afford it. Our team party is next week but my kids won't get their trophies because I couldn't pull another $60 out of the air! So, of course, they will hold them hostage. What a sad ending for my kids...Everyone says such wonderful things about Pop Warner. They must not have played in Menifee.

Boy Faces Possible Paralysis After Pop Warner Football Injury

Boy Faces Possible Paralysis After Pop Warner Football Injury 5:48 a.m. PST, November 8, 2011MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (KTLA) -- A 13-year-old boy is facing possible paralysis from a spinal injury suffered during a Pop Warner football game.

Donnovan Hill fractured his spine on Sunday during the Midget Orange Bowl championship game.

Hill is the running back for the Lakewood Lancers.
Witnesses say Hill dropped to the ground after hitting his head while trying to block a play.

His mother says he is trying to be strong, and they are praying that the surgeons at Mission Hospital can repair the injury.

Family and friends will gather Tuesday night for a special prayer vigil at Mae Boyer Park.

If you would like to help the Hill family, donations can be sent to the Orange Empire Conference, in care of Donnovan Hill:

Orange Empire Conference c/o Donnovan Hill PO Box 7652 Huntington Beach, CA 92615
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Video of this story can be seen at: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-pop-warner-football-injury,0,4938743.story


All of Southern California youth football should be pulling for young Donnovan Hill and his family.

But OEC collecting donations on this young man's behalf is a second tragedy. Hopefully, someone else establishes a charitable fund for this brave young man's family.

Pop Warner Officials in Lawsuit

Oviedo Pop Warner officers targeted in father’s lawsuit
March 30, 2010By Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel

SANFORD — An Oviedo Pop Warner football dad is suing four officers of the nonprofit sports organization, accusing them of fraud, self-dealing and buying gear from sporting-goods companies that pay a cut to one of the officers.

"This … thing is a huge scandal," said Dale Di Bernardo, 49, who filed the suit in circuit court. "These people are walking around town like they're doing the people who sign up for these sports a favor. They're ripping everyone off."

Named in the suit are four volunteers who have donated hundreds of hours to pee-wee football players and cheerleaders: Oviedo Pop Warner commissioner Frank V. Sloan, a sporting goods salesman; president Jeffrey Woodard III, a supermarket manager; treasurer Linda Lougee, an Oviedo High School secretary; and club secretary Debbie Long.

None would comment Tuesday except to say they had done nothing wrong.

"The allegations," said Long, "are false."

No one has been arrested or charged, but the suit accuses two of the officers of financial wrongdoing.

The suit says Sloan has put money in his pocket by having the league buy equipment from at least two sporting-goods companies for which he has worked or in which he owns an interest.

It also says Lougee, the treasurer, has donated Pop Warner money, without authorization, to another organization for which she serves as treasurer — the Oviedo High School Athletic Booster Club.

According to Pop Warner financial records turned over this year, Lougee has spent about $2,000 in Pop Warner funds on high-school boosters and bought them a large flat-screen television, said Di Bernardo's attorney, Lan Kennedy-Davis.

Lougee said that's not true. Her boss at Oviedo High, Principal Robert Lundquist, said he has seen no evidence of misspending.

Di Bernardo fought for months to get the league's financial records, Kennedy-Davis said, and when they were finally delivered, they were incomplete and showed misspending.

"This is not incompetence — not based on our belief," she said. "These are intentional acts."

Woodard and Long were sued, Kennedy-Davis said, because they consistently vote with Sloan and Lougee at board meetings.

Because the records were incomplete, Kennedy-Davis said she did not know how much money was misspent. The lawyer said it appeared that financial irregularities went on for years.

Two Oviedo Pop Warner coaches who know Di Bernardo said they have no information about financial improprieties. But they know Di Bernardo, and they say he is the problem.

He has turned against the league because coaches last season pulled his 12-year-old son from the starting lineup, they said.

"I have never seen somebody go to this extent over something like this in my life," said Ed Boyd, who coached Di Bernardo's son in 2007 and 2008.

"He's attacking some really good people. … Pop Warner is a great organization, a great organization, and Oviedo has been the model."

Di Bernardo, who used to coach Oviedo Pop Warner football as well as Babe Ruth baseball and wrestling, said that is not the case. Parents have to pay nearly $300 per child per year, and the money is being wasted, he said.

In addition, the children have to conduct fundraisers, such as selling cookie dough, to cover league expenses.

"I'm flushing money down the toilet [on legal fees] for the good of the town and the kids, to eliminate these bad apples from these organizations," he said.

He estimated that 300 children, as young as 5, take part in Oviedo Pop Warner football and cheerleading.

Among his demands in the suit is that a judge make sure that any misspent money is repaid, and that the four men who coached Di Bernardo's son — including Boyd — are banned from coaching Pop Warner teams again.

Rene Stutzman can be reached at rstutzman@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6394.

La Mirada Pop Warner passes out beer bongs infront 8 year olds

POSTED BY LM Pop Warner Dad “LM Pop Let Down”

La Mirada, CA

Mar 10, 2010

Lets see, they dropped the ball by allowing beer bongs to be passed out to the coaches as thank you gifts in front of about 35 children under the age of ten, during an awards banquet . Then the coaches and team mom told the children they were for orange juice, wtf is that. You ask what am I referring to? My childrens recent banquet where you could find plenty of Jack, beer and beer bongs for all the little ones to see. Nice role models!

You ask did I call or write and let Pop Warner know? Yes I did call Pop Warner and what was done, nothing. I was told I would be getting a call from Dan, but never did. So the only crock is this so called family organization. They pretend to care about our children but don't.
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OEC Pop Warner at it again. It is all about the kids for Orange Empire Conference Pop Warner.

Officials Ban 11-Year-Old Demias Jimerson From Scoring Touchdowns

Officials Ban 11-Year-Old Demias Jimerson From Scoring Touchdowns
October 01, 2011

At 11 years old, Demias Jimerson is a sixth-grade football star. "Star" meaning, he's so good that officials made it illegal for him to score any more touchdowns.

Principal Bryant from Wilson Intermediate School in Arkansas said that "if he gets his hands on the ball...he'll score." What is wrong with that? What is the point of playing a competitive sport? Apparently, school officials feel that by Jimerson "running" the game, the other fifth and sixth-graders feel inferior and left out. That's a valid argument, however, how does that affect Demias? Since when does limiting one's self define success in regards to a competition? According to Mrs. Bryant the rule is there to help the other players develop as well, and it was never implemented in hopes of punishing young Jimerson.

The rule states that if Demias has scored three touchdowns and his team is leading by at least 14 points then he's prohibited from scoring another touchdown. So does this mean that teams will just let him score three times to get him out of the game and then really start playing? It's simply ridiculous. Why isn't there a rule that allows him to play up a grade level?

The truly outrageous part about all this is actually really humbling: Demias Jimerson says that he is alright with all this and that he understands; however, he's still "kind of shocked" to hear that he had to do it. In an interview with Fox News he said that "I'm gonna run hard and bring our team to victory," adding, "but God always comes first, before anything, and grades second."

Luckily, for Jimerson, his fans, and anyone else upset about the "Madre Hill Rule," it only affects players up to sixth grade. Next year the game is on and as time proves: other teams better be careful because '12' year old football star Demias Jimerson is coming.