A Seffner man is facing charges after deputies said he stole thousands of dollars from a Polk County youth baseball organization.
Corey Borah, 39, was arrested Monday on a Polk County warrant charging him with grand theft, fraud, tampering with a witness and making false entries in corporate books.
According to investigators, Borah served on the Board of Directors as treasurer for Mulberry Dixie Youth, Inc., a sports organization.
Investigators said the investigation began when the president of the board, Anthony Smith, made a deposit into the organization's credit union account because Borah wasn't available, and noticed that the balance on the bank statement was "significantly lower" than it should have been.
Smith called a board meeting and asked Borah to attend, and to bring all check cards assigned to the account, but deputies said Borah declined to attend the meeting. As a result, the board members voted to have the funds frozen and audited.
Investigators said the audit found that Borah withdrew over $10,000 in illegitimate purchases, including payments for hotel rooms, gasoline, restaurants, a car wash and several cash withdrawals, including one for $1,900. Borah hid the activity by making false entries into the corporation books and semi-monthly account summaries, detectives said.
Borah submitted to Smith some requested receipts that only detailed authorized purchases, along with a letter saying that he was "regretful, disgusted and ashamed," detectives said. The letter also asked Smith to not disclose his transgressions and to let him repay the stolen money through a payment plan, a request Smith declined, detectives said.
Smith reported the theft to authorities, who then arrested Borah without incident.
Detectives said the money in the account was designated for the construction of a new batting cage, and that some of the money in the account was raised by the children, who held a charity car wash. Now, officials said, as a result of the theft, the organization will not be able to fund the project.
After news of Borah's arrest became public, Smith released the following statement on behalf of the organization:
"It's very disappointing that one of our members would violate the trust we had in him. Nevertheless our league is strong and already has taken steps to keep this from ever happening again. We are still financially secure as we uncovered his actions in time.
"It's our promise to the boys and girls that fund raised for the new cages and we will not let them down. One of our volunteers has dismantled our old fencing and the new concrete will be poured before Christmas, the new nets will be hung and ready for spring season. Unfortunately it just may not be covered right away."