Ark Valley News - Jr. cheer director accused of embezzlement

Parents gather at First United Methodist Church in Valley Center Oct. 23, looking for answers to what happened with the junior cheer program's former director.

Jr. cheer director accused of embezzlement
By Matt Heilman
Last Updated: October 31, 2014

Parents say they paid for equipment they never received

Parents gathered at Valley Center's First United Methodist Church Oct. 23, seeking answers. They say they never received gear they purchased for their daughters in the Valley Center Junior Cheer Program. They say their trust was betrayed as thousands of dollars has gone unaccounted for.

The parents say the culprit is the cheer program's director, who they allege has embezzled an undisclosed amount of money, possibly exceeding $20,000. The junior cheer director did not respond to calls from The News.

Before stepping down this month, the director was in her first year leading the program of first- through sixth-grade girls whose cheer season coincides with the Valley Center Junior Football schedule.

With their season winding down, parents of junior cheerleaders were concerned that their daughters would be denied their participation trophies and end-of-year party.

"It is so sad that these hard-working girls were taken advantage of," parent Mandy Johnson said in an email to The News before the Oct. 23 parent meeting. "Most of our girls have not received backpacks, wind suits or shoes that parents paid for."

Tara Bupp, who served as the junior cheer program director last year before moving to the Dallas area, returned to Valley Center for the Oct. 23 meeting and to kickoff fundraising efforts to help the program pay approximately $4,300 owed to vendors. Bupp, who assisted the new director with the leadership transition of the program, said she hopes to see parents refunded for purchase orders that never came in.

Bupp said she also wanted to dispel rumors that she had left fees unpaid before stepping down as the program's director after last year. She said she found out there were concerns with the cheer program when parents contacted her this summer regarding an issue with new shoes for their daughters. Cheer parents reported that they paid the director for new shoes, but never received them. Bupp said some parents were having trouble contacting the new director and weren't able to get a straight answer from her regarding the shoes and other missing equipment that included wind suits and bags, among a few items.

More than two months ago, Bupp said she spoke with her replacement about the missing shoes, but like the concerned parents, she did not receive a straight answer.

"She kept telling me over and over she was working on it," Bupp said. "More than two months ago, she said she'd take care of it that week."

There were also concerns with parents paying more than they should have in registration fees. Bupp said the new director claimed the extra fees were necessary to offset unpaid expenses, including gym use from the Valley Center school district.

Bupp said the school district didn't charge the program for gym use last year and the reason the cheerleaders had to practice in the Methodist church gym this year was that the director didn't sign up with the district to use its facilities.

With questions outweighing answers and suspicions and mistrust abounding, Bupp said she asked her replacement to step down as the Valley Center Junior Cheer Program director earlier this month. She said there were several red flags that indicated it was time to stop giving the director the benefit of the doubt.

Bupp said she found that several parents of the 68 girls in the program had written checks for registration or equipment directly to the program's director, a practice that had never happened before in the program. Bupp said even checks that weren't made out to the director were ending up in the director's personal account and hadn't been used to purchase gear for the cheerleaders.

"It just exploded," Bupp said.

Adding to speculation and anger from parents is the cheer director's recent purchase of a house in Valley Center. The director reportedly moved to the home in early to mid October about the time she was asked to step down from her leadership role with the cheer program.

"That's why people are so mad," Bupp said. "That's a huge red flag."

Bupp said she heard from parents she worked with last year that the cheer program's participation decreased by about 10 to 15 members since August.

Dustye Merriman, whose fifth-grade daughter is in her fifth year in the junior cheer program, said she started to realize that "something wasn't quite right" when fellow parents started coming to her about their shoe orders that never arrived.

Merriman said the stories from the program's director never panned out.

"I had volunteered to help (her) several times," Merriman said.

Along with the concerns about where checks were being deposited, she said several parents paid for equipment with cash that has also gone unaccounted for. And in addition to vendors, she pointed out that VCHS cheerleaders were never paid what they were due for taking time to work with girls in the program. Merriman said the failure of the director to pay the high school cheerleaders was "a big red flag" for several parents.

Prior to Oct. 23, at least one parent made a report to Valley Center police regarding the missing funds. At the parent meeting, Valley Center Police Sgt. Thomas Delgado and Det. Jay Grayson took written information from parents, including how much they paid, how they paid and what items they purchased, but did not receive.

Grayson said the case of alleged embezzlement will not likely be resolved quickly because of the number of potential victims, individual claims that must be sorted through and money trails that will need to be traced.

So far, no formal charges have been presented against the now former junior cheer director.

Parent Lori Coffman, who has served as a coach in the Valley Center cheer program, has agreed to step in as director and to head a committee organized to help parents get their money back. Coffman, who has a sixth-grade daughter in the cheer program and a kindergartner who will participate next year, said she hoped to see confidence restored in the program.

Along with questions, concerns and frustrations expressed on Oct. 23, Bupp spoke with parents about yielding positive results from the negative circumstances. For starters, Bupp said the girls will be able to have an end-of-year skating party for free.

Local businesses have stepped up to assist the program in its fundraising efforts. On Oct. 27, Pizza Hut donated 20 percent of sales from 4 to 8 p.m. to the program. A similar contribution is planned for Big Larry's Burgers on Nov. 4 where 20 percent of proceeds from 5 to 9 p.m. will go to the program. The cheer program is also planning to raffle off a quilt and other items on Nov. 9. Cheerleaders will be selling raffle tickets for $5 each.

To organize the fundraising dollars, the junior cheer program set up a new account at Halstead Bank, Bupp said.

One of the parents stepping up to guide the fundraising efforts is Courtney Byers, whose second-grade daughter is in her first year in the Valley Center Junior Cheer Program. While joining fellow parents in their disappointment, Byers said the group needs to stay positive for their daughters.

"Our utmost concern is getting the girls what they deserve," she said.