King County prosecutors have charged a former Kent Little League treasurer with 14 counts of first-and second-degree theft for allegedly taking $226,515 over a 16-month period from the youth baseball and softball organization.
Kevin L. Baker, 50, of Maple Valley, is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 26 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Baker is not in custody but has been ordered by a judge to appear in King County Superior Court to face the charges filed on Monday.
Kent Police investigated the case and turned its information over to prosecutors in September. Detectives started to investigate the case in December 2013 when the Little League board president reported significant financial discrepancies in the league’s bank accounts in 2012 and 2013.
Baker reportedly used some of the embezzled funds in an attempt to keep his newly acquired Benchwarmer Sports Bar and Grill afloat, according to charging papers. The bar along Russell Road has since closed.
The league’s board of directors sent a letter in September to Little League parents and volunteers that read in part, “Significant financial discrepancies were found in the management of league funds throughout the 2012 and 2013 seasons.”
During a February interview with detectives, Baker admitted to stealing more than $200,000 from league accounts from May 2012 through September 2013 to try to keep his business afloat, according to charging papers.
He also explained to detectives that he was the victim of a Nigerian Internet email-solicitation scam in which he sent tens of thousands of dollars to the United Kingdom and Nigeria on the premise that the lender would provide him with a much-needed business loan he couldn’t otherwise qualify for in the United States.
Baker admitted he also used league funds to pay business taxes owed for the Benchwarmer bar and used the money for personal expenses.
Detectives received a search warrant for bank records for all accounts where Baker was an authorized signatory, including two with the Kent Little League, his business account and his personal account.
The bank records showed Baker used league funds for personal expenses, including restaurant and bar tabs. Records also showed checks written to Baker and his business from the league accounts, including two cashier checks for as much as $20,000 each to his business account. Cash withdrawals from the league account by Baker coincided with cash deposits into his business account.
League president Greg Whitcomb told police he discovered the financial shortfall after he tried to use a Kent Little League ATM card for a $20 purchase at Office Depot and the card was declined. He learned in December 2013 that anywhere from $80,000 to $150,000 appeared to be missing from league bank accounts.
Whitcomb told detectives six debit cards were associated with the league bank accounts. Baker had one of the debit cards which was used to make a large number of cash withdrawals. An audit that Whitcomb had done showed Baker used unauthorized checks and money orders from the Little League that totaled $94,104. Baker used his debit card to withdraw $126,697.
Baker previously served as president of the Kent Little League before Whitcomb became president.
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