Police Investigate Missing Funds from Casper Youth Baseball

A former employee of Casper Youth Baseball is being investigated for possibly scores of thousands of dollars missing from its bank account, according to court documents.

Casper police have executed at least two search warrants with companies that have done business with the nonprofit CYB, according to Natrona County Circuit Court records.

According to the affidavits accompanying the search warrants, CYB board member Cindy Garvin began receiving reports in April that utility companies were threatening to cut off service if their bills were not immediately paid.

A Casper police officer obtained reports from the organization and contacted Garvin in July, according to the affidavits.

Garvin told the officer that CYB had hired a part-time bookkeeper and office manager in July 2013. Her jobs included general office duties, collecting payments and depositing them in CYB's account at Hilltop National Bank. The organization had a policy that all checks had to be signed by a board member. The employee was not issued a debit or credit card and was not authorized to make any charges not approved by the board of directors. Her salary was $24,000 a year.

Earlier in the year, Garvin had reported to the CYB's board of directors that the organization's balance at Hilltop National Bank should be at least $100,000, but as of April 19, it was about $52,000.

In trying to resolve the discrepancy, Garvin could not find the CYB's books and accounts information at its office or at its post office box. She then tried to get them from the bookkeeper at her residence. The bookkeeper refused to give Garvin anything, saying she had been told not to do so by her attorney, according to the affidavits.

Casper Youth Baseball then terminated the bookkeeper, according to the affidavits.

Garvin obtained the organization's bank records, reviewed them, and found more than 150 unauthorized charges. Those charges were made through a CYB debit card issued to another former employee, according to the affidavits.

Garvin found two unauthorized payroll checks issued to the former bookkeeper, and missing deposits associated with registration fees. She spoke to many players' parents and learned many of them paid the fees with cash or checks that had never cleared the bank, according to the affidavits.

Garvin declined to comment.