Former Wallkill youth football, cheer league treasurer avoids jail for theft from program
The former treasurer of a youth football and cheer program accused of stealing upwards of $30,000 will avoid prison, provided she pay back a quarter of that amount to the organization, a judge ruled Friday.
Justine Lynn, of Franklin Borough, who faced a maximum five-year prison sentence for a third-degree charge of theft, will instead serve a one-year term of probation, with conditions she refund $7,500 to the Wallkill Valley Youth Football and Cheer program within 45 days. She will also have to serve 100 hours of community service.
Authorities arrested the 44-year-old in January 2019 after the president and vice president of the organization's board of directors called police to report multiple unauthorized transactions from two accounts linked to the organization.
Lynn pleaded guilty in February to a third-degree crime of theft, admitting between Jan. 30, 2018 and Jan. 30, 2019 she took between $500 and $75,000 from the organization.
The club had reported a loss of $30,000 but during plea negotiations, were OK with Lynn paying back $7,500 after they were able to recover some of the funds by their insurance carrier. The reimbursement does not make Lynn immune from any potential future action by the insurance company, said Sussex County Superior Court Judge Michael Gaus during Lynn's in-person sentencing.
Sussex news: Woman identified in fatal Wantage crash as longtime Saddle Brook resident
Sally Anne Monkemeier, a Sussex assistant prosecutor, said that the financial logbooks that Lynn was in charge of as treasurer were in such disarray, it was hard to prove how much money was stolen in total, particularly when it came to missing cash deposits that she said were diverted for Lynn's personal use.
Lynn allegedly used the organization's money to help fund vacations to New York State and Maryland as well as pay for utility and cellphone bills.
The organization's leaders became suspicious when Lynn was unable to write a check for $40 to refund a parent for a registration, the judge said, reading from court documents. When the league wanted to hold a raffle, Lynn allegedly delayed several times because there was no money in the account to pay for the municipal fee for the permit, he added.
Appearing in court Friday visibly upset and often rubbing her eyes, Lynn said she was remorseful.
"This has ruined my entire life," she told the judge. "I just want to get my life back, my three kids are everything to me, that is why I got involved to begin with in this all."
Prosecutors and the judge raised concerns that Lynn might have been making excuses for her actions. Prior to her sentencing, Lynn told a probation officer she had inherited messy log books and had attempted to but failed to meet with the league's secretary because she had noticed discrepancies — a suggestion that none of it would have happened had that meeting taken place, Monkemeier said.
Lynn also allegedly stated that she accidentally used the wrong debit card — the organization's and not hers — when making several transactions.
"Inheriting books that are a mess, not being able to sit down with another volunteer ... is in no way an explanation for why someone would pay their electric bill out of funds belonging to a non-profit, charitable organization that is there to serve the interests of innocent children," Gaus said.
"This organization could have gone under and the children that are involved in these athletic activities would not be able to do that in this municipality because of the actions of this one person," Gaus said, "and Ms. Lynn has to live with that."
Lynn's attorney told the judge his client had been under stresses in her life after she had become addicted to pain medications in 2012 and was trying to wean from them. A married mother of three children, Lynn has a minor criminal history and it is unlikely she will commit another crime, said Martin Morrison, her attorney.
Schools: Green Hills School students feast on farm-to-table meal on inaugural 'Chef Day'
The case had remained unresolved for several years after Morrison sought unsuccessfully to dismiss the one-count indictment and enroll his client in the state's pretrial intervention program, which would have allowed her to avoid a guilty plea and dismiss her criminal record upon successful completion. Prosecutors, however, called the crime too serious and denied the application.
The Wallkill Valley program, the oldest and potentially the largest in Sussex County with nearly 400 children, struggled to stay afloat after their funds were depleted. In April 2019, the Sparta Youth Football Program, their rivals on the field, stepped in and paid for Wallkill's on-field lighting bill.
The program, which offers sports programs to children in Hamburg, Franklin, Hardyston and Ogdensburg, kicks off their season in August. The program is also known as the Wallkill Valley Junior Rangers Football and Cheer.
Lori Comstock can also be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Ex-Wallkill Valley Youth Football and Cheer treasurer avoids jail
