Northern California cheer team mired in controversy over embezzlement allegations
ROSEVILLE — A Northern California youth cheer squad is now at the center of a bitter legal dispute not between the children but the adults.
The Woodcreek Junior Timberwolves members practiced in Roseville on Tuesday, masking the trouble and fighting between board members. The program's future is in question.
Maurice Chaney is a parent in the program.
"I'm incredibly sad right now," Chaney said. "This week, my daughter was crying because she didn't understand what was going on."
Kenneth Snyder is sad, too.
"To me, it hurts the kids. I mean, it's a bad thing," Snyder said.
As the children practiced, board members were battling.
An attorney hired by a past board president sent out a cease and desist letter to the current board, announcing that the club's $100,000 in savings is now in his control.
The board treasurer then fired back, filing a police report alleging embezzlement.
"I think it's premature to call it anything of a criminal nature," legal analyst Candice Fields said.
Fields is an attorney specializing in white collar criminal defense. She said everyone connected to the board has a fiduciary responsibility to protect the cheer squad's assets.
"What we have are board members who are not getting along," Fields said.
Nationals are two months away. It's a trip that costs families time and money.
"During this time, as the program figures itself out, we're going to try our best to make sure that these girls are unaffected," Chaney said.
