An Oglethorpe woman is facing multiple charges after authorities said she stole nearly $128,000.00 from the Oglethorpe County Athletic Booster Club.
Tiffany Gomes is being charged with theft by taking, according to Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office for stealing funds from the booster club over a two year period. The investigation revealed the theft happened from Feb. 1, 2017, to Oct. 16, 2019.
According to its website, The Oglethorpe County Athletic Booster Club is a nonprofit organization that supports the middle and high school athletic programs.
They say they are made up of "hard working parents that feel athletic competition teaches sportsmanship, self-discipline, perseverance, and provides the opportunity for our athletes to learn the value of teamwork, cooperation, and mutual respect."
The club uses funds to buy uniforms and upgrade athletic facilities.
According to authorities, the president of the booster club was alerted when the club's bank contacted the president in reference to an email. The email was a request from Gomes asking the bank to pay off a loan she had taken out.
The president didn't recognize the loan, according to police, and never authorized payment of the loan. Upon reviewing the bank statement she discovered the account only had $71 in it as opposed to the more than $50,000 that should've been in the account, according to a financial statement.
Authorities said the president met with the board members to review a number of bank statements from recent years.
"They found hundreds of unauthorized payments to credit cards, bank loans, car payments spa days and many others that were made by the current treasurer of the club Tiffany Gomes. The preliminary total of missing funds from the Athletic Boosters account was around $127,795.26 from February 1, 2017, to October 16, 2019," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post.
The booster club reported the improprieties to the sheriff's office on Oct. 22, who in turn contacted the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) due to the "sheer volume of transactions involved," authorities said.
Two days later, the GBI met with Gomes who apparently owned up to the transactions and appropriating money from the Athletic Booster account for her own use. Investigators said a theft by taking warrant was also signed on Oct. 30.
The sheriff's office said there are a number of people who were victimized by Gomes' actions. "Tiffany’s ex-husband and children did not know this was going on at all. The Athletic Booster Board and members have been betrayed and the money they worked hard to raise was pilfered for personal gain of an individual who had no right to it," the sheriff's office said.
The board has consulted with the sheriff's office to put checks and balances in place so this won't happen again, they said.
"Ultimately the biggest victims in all of this are the children of Oglethorpe County who need those funds to pay for uniforms, equipment, upgrades to the athletic fields and pay for travel for those kids who have earned the privilege to represent our community in competitions," authorities said.
Local authorities also called for the community to come together to help pay for needed items Oglethorpe children may need.
Gomes turned herself on Nov. 4 and is currently out on bond. Additional charges are expected upon Gomes' court date.
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