Is stealing from your local league really a crime?

How can a youth sports league protect themselves from embezzlement and theft from its volunteers when it is growing quicker than people may notice or care to see? It is no longer just a corporate problem. The economy is failing, people are losing their homes and vehicles and are pulling at strings to find a means to pay for their lifestyles. Unfortunately, it is not just an innocent rearranging of funds, it is now a matter of stealing from children.  Although we have stressed the importance of Risk Management in local leagues for years, even national organizations such as the National Alliance for Youth Sports have begun awareness of the swindling of funds in their publication, Sporting Kid Magazine “Wanted: Trustworthy Volunteers”.

When we speak to leagues in regards to the risk management for league funds as well as crime insurance in the event that the unthinkable does happen we often get comments such as, “It would never happen to us.”, “We have measures in place for that.”, or the newest one “I’m the only one in control of the money, and I wouldn’t take it.” Unfortunatelly, we are not fully in control of other people’s actions.  More so than ever, we are seeing individuals going to great lengths to get to funds and no one, even the treasurer, sees what is going on until it is too late.   For information on this, as well as other risk management materials, please visit our website.

Filed under: Crime, Risk Management
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