Former Springfield Youth Club treasurer charged with stealing over $130K since 2019
SPRINGFIELD, Pa. (CBS) -- Court records obtained by CBS News Philadelphia show Kathleen Hammond, former treasurer of the Springfield Youth Club in Delaware County, has been charged by county detectives in connection with more than $130,000 in theft from the organization dating back to 2019.
Hammond was terminated after the allegations of theft surfaced, a spokesperson for District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said.
A criminal complaint alleges Hammond spent money on vacations, concert tickets for Billy Joel and tickets to Philadelphia Eagles games. Last month, the organization released a statement that it was cooperating with an investigation.
This past July, arrest papers show a $4,000 charge for Birds games was charged to the Springfield Youth Club card.
Parents involved with the Springfield Youth Club didn't want to talk on camera.
Those connected with the club, a nonprofit program supporting grade school cheerleading and football, are outraged after learning of the arrest of Hammond on felony theft charges.
Court papers point also out there were hundreds of personal Amazon transactions.
Investigators say Hammond had the youth club's debit card tied to her Amazon account to make payments. It's alleged she used funds from the youth club to pay for her family's living expenses.
Stollsteimer said Hammond's husband benefitted from the Eagles tickets. His alleged role and the possibility of charges are still under investigation.
"It's terribly upsetting because what it is is a breach of trust," Stollsteimer said. "To find somebody that they trusted to overlook those funds and was illegally using them is devastating."
Court papers show Hammond was confronted by the youth club board moments earlier this year and allegedly admitted to using club money for personal reasons.
At that time, arrest papers show she paid back $30,000.
Jeff DiBlasi, President of Springfield Youth Club, declined to go on camera but said in a statement: "....We have been tricked and mislead by someone we trusted over the course of these events. Having this come to light in the public view will now allow us as a youth club to be able to move forward as justice will begin to get served."
Stollsteimer said now is a good time for nonprofits to make sure they have levels of oversight of their organization's funds.
"Whenever you're involved in an organization that's trying to do good things in raising piles of money to do it, you need to have controls in place so one person doesn't have unfettered access to the money," Stollsteimer said.
Hammond will be back in court later this month
Efforts to reach Hammond or her attorney were not successful.