ELLSWORTH –- Former Ellsworth Baseball Softball Association president Whitney O’Neil pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft – business setting Friday, Sept. 2 in Pierce County Circuit Court as a packed courtroom looked on. As part of a plea deal reached between O’Neil’s attorney, Aaron Nelson, and the Pierce County District Attorney’s office, four felony theft – business setting charges were dismissed but will be read-in for sentencing and restitution. While a sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Jan. 23, Nelson asked the court to consider a three-year probation sentence with no more than 60 days of conditional jail time (with work release allowed) as a probation condition. A restitution hearing is slated for 8:30 a.m. Dec. 22, which Assistant District Attorney Joseph Schieuer requested be given a full-day time slot, considering the number of interested parties who might want to testify.

The state will be asking for no more than $130,167.82 in restitution, which the defense said “is not nearly that amount.”

Charges

Five felony theft – business setting charges were filed against O’Neil Oct. 5, 2021 after a months-long investigation by Pierce County investigators and EBSA board members that revealed O’Neil, 45, was spending EBSA funds on personal expenses such as shopping, hotels, air fares, family vacations, parking fees and bills. The total listed in the Oct. 5 criminal complaint was $111,714.82, taken from EBSA bank accounts. At the time, O’Neil told investigators she was “struggling to make ends meet.” On aver age, she spent about $20,000 per year from the EBSA accounts.

EBSA is a non-profit organization that operates the summer baseball and softball events and traveling leagues for kids 8-15 in the Ellsworth Community School District, until high school baseball and softball begin.

O’Neil, who became the EBSA treasurer in 2015 and president in 2017, said in an email to EBSA board members in 2021 that she wanted to pay the money back.

“I wanted to make the best I could for my family during a time where we couldn’t provide the best,” she wrote.

“The greed took over and I couldn’t stop, and that was at the cost of the organization.”

EBSA reaction

Attorney Rory O’Sullivan, who is representing the EBSA in this case, released a statement upon the Journal’s request about O’Neil’s conviction. He said his clients were pleased by the conviction.

“The Ellsworth Baseball Softball Association is satisfied to see Ms. O’Neil finally be convicted of the theft that she perpetrated against the Ellsworth Baseball Softball Association and, consequently, to its various donors, contributors, volunteers and participants.

Ms. O’Neil pleaded guilty to and was convicted of felony theft, which is a class H felony, for which she could be sentenced to a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed six years, or both. This was one of the five counts in the criminal complaint, with which she was charged. The other four counts of that complaint, each of which were also class H felony theft charges, were dismissed but will be considered by the court in determining what the appropriate sentence will be and what the appropriate amount of money is that Ms. O’Neil must repay to the EBSA.

These five charges were split up by year, with one charge for each of the years 20152019. Ms. O’Neil previously admitted, both to the EBSA and to law enforcement, that she had been embezzling money from the EBSA over the course of several years, including those years 2015– 2019. Although the exact sentence, which Ms. O’Neil will have to serve due to her conviction, will not be known until the sentencing hearing is held next year, the EBSA is confident that justice will be done at that sentencing hearing and also believes that Ms. O’Neil now being a convicted felon due to her actions is appropriate due to Ms. O’Neil’s actions.

“Ms. O’Neil’s conviction is also a vindication of several members of the EBSA’s board, who had developed suspicions about Ms. O’Neil while she was involved with the EBSA. Members of that organization developed concerns about Ms. O’Neil’s handling of the EBSA’s finances, which concerns of those members only deepened after Ms. O’Neil left the EBSA. These concerns were subsequently looked into by members of the board after Ms. O’Neil’s departure and then subsequently reported to law enforcement, which ultimately led to Ms. O’Neil’s investigation and, now, felony conviction.

“Before the sentencing hearing, which will be held sometime next year, a restitution hearing will be held.

This restitution hearing will be the hearing at which the amount of money, which Ms. O’Neil will be required to repay shall be determined.

This amount will be limited to the amount that the EBSA can prove. The EBSA believes that the amount of money stolen by Ms. O’Neil may well be higher than the amount that the EBSA will be able to prove at this hearing because so many of the transactions were in cash.

However, the EBSA is optimistic that it will at least be able to prove those amounts, which the EBSA previous- ly communicated to Ms. O’Neil (being $130,167.82). Regardless of what the court determines the actual amount to be repaid to be, the EBSA also hopes that Ms. O’Neil will stand by her promise from July 23, 2021, back when she first admitted to the EBSA’s board that she had stolen from the association and promised to repay them in full, when she said “I want to let you know that I take full responsibility in my actions and will repay you back in full capacity.” As a result, the EBSA expects that the amount of money, which the court determines the EBSA can prove was stolen, will be repaid promptly and without further ado once it has been determined.”

Board transparency

Current EBSA Board President Lisa Acker said in a statement emailed to the Journal Sept. 5 that since the start of 2021, the EBSA has been including detailed financial reports at each meeting and posting them on the Ellsworth Panthers website.

“We openly discuss finances and give a report at every meeting,” Acker said.

“We have two board members names on our account.

We vote on all expenditures of any funds. Our treasurer handles all three accounts.

We require receipts and keep records of those to back up checks written for any reimbursement.

“Any type of fundraiser that has been conducted has had multiple board members counting funds and cross checking those counts before we ever leave the location. All money has been deposited immediately in sealed bank bags. We have conducted several meat raffles and have had the cash cut out into a check by the host so the cash never left the building. We do not use an ATM to withdraw cash for payments of any bills or expenses. There is simply no need for cash except when we host our annual fundraiser and then those funds are strictly accounted for and are checked by more than one board member multiple times and with multiple members present.

“We are doing everything we can to keep our members informed and involved. We are as transparent as we can possibly be with our meeting packets posted on our website and our meetings announced on Facebook and via email to our membership.

We have worked to revise bylaws and operating guidelines to safeguard the members of our association since this unfortunate situation was found. It has been a long two years and we believe people now have trust in those leading the EBSA and we hope that continues.”

Whitney O’Neil