OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The Oshkosh Youth Hockey Association (OYHA) says one of its board members admitted to stealing $60,000 from the organization. Now, the club is working to try and get back on track.
Luke Burger, president of OYHA, says incidents like this are all-too-common.
“Whether it’s churches, other sports organizations, or even Fortune 500 companies and area companies, theft happens every day. And it's very unfortunate." Burger said.
Burger says a series of late bills lead the board to begin an investigation, and eventually discover the treasurer had been stealing from the club for years. According to Oshkosh Police, the treasurer reported that she had stolen at least $60,000.
OYHA Vice President Tom Breunig is concerned that without the stolen money, some of the programming the club offers will have to be cut.
"We should have this nice slush fund that we could've done some exciting things to provide more free opportunities for people to try hockey," Breunig said. "I really look at it as we're behind the eight ball now."
Breunig says the program has a big impact on kids, and said, "It’s really just so much fun to watch these kids grow as individuals...start coming out of their shells learning how to be a team, work together and just give their all in a sport.”
To help prevent internal theft, Breunig urges clubs to take steps like ensuring dual signatures are on checks and implementing monthly audits.
Oshkosh Youth Hockey will be resuming programming in the fall, but is still looking for help from the community.
Anyone interested in donating can visit Oshkosh Youth Hockey's GoFundMe page.
