Crime & Safety

Suspected 'Embezzlement' Uncovered at Shooting Stars Soccer Club

A "significant" sum of money over a two year span was "misappropriated", the Glen Rock youth soccer club claims. Police are investigating.

A "significant" amount of money has been "misappropriated" from the bank account of the Glen Rock Shooting Stars Soccer Club, the youth organization wrote to parents and coaches in a letter obtained by Patch.

"In the past few weeks, the club became aware of suspected embezzlement activity in our bank account," club president Declan Daly wrote in the July 24 letter. "The suspected fraudulent activity was uncovered during the transition of new board member responsibilities, and spanned a period of two years."

The club is still going through the numbers, Daly said, "but at this point we estimate that a significant amount of money was misappropriated from the Club’s bank account since September 2010."

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The sum of money believed to be missing has not been specified, nor was any individual believed to be responsible identified. 

Reached for comment Thursday morning, Daly told Patch there was little more he could say without "jeopardizing" the ongoing police investigation. He said the organization has severed ties with one individual.

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The suspected "embezzlement" will not hinder club operations, he said.

The GRSS took immediate action once the misappropriation was discovered, according to the club president. "We have implemented new policies to ensure that this unfortunate situation never occurs again," he told Patch.

"The club is 100% committed to providing the outstanding soccer experience our players and families have come to expect over the last 15 years," Daly wrote in the July 24 letter. "That said, the damage to the Club’s reputation as the news of breach of trust gets out in Glen Rock will also be as significant, if not more so, than the financial damage."

The youth organization fields more than a dozen competitive club teams and counts hundreds of members, many coming from Glen Rock.

Said Daly: "As we move forward…and we will, our core mission for Shooting Stars will remain to provide the youth of Glen Rock and surrounding towns with a fun, competitive and safe environment in which they can build and develop their skills as soccer players as well as a general sense of the game, teamwork, sportsmanship, values, and overall confidence."

Police did not immediately return a request for comment.

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