State Auditor Mary Mosiman.
A special investigation by the state auditor’s office has identified all sorts of improper transactions by the former treasurer of the group that runs youth sports programs in the northeast Iowa town Earlville.
State Auditor Mary Mosiman the Delaware County Sheriff asked for the investigation after getting a tip. “In April of 2016 a city council member who was familiar with the Earlville Athletic Association’s operations expressed a concern that the bank balance was lower than it should be. The city clerk then contacted the sheriff, who contacted our office,” Mosiman says.
The investigation covered January of 2012 through May of 2016 when treasurer Kimberly Snyder was relieved of her duties. Auditors found at least $8,500 of improper payments. Mosiman says Snyder spent nearly $1,600 on her home mortgage and car loan. She also wrote nearly $2,700 in checks to pay her utility bills. Auditors flagged improper cash withdrawals and about $2,900 of purchases that weren’t related to the association’s operations and a $500 payment to Snyder’s husband, and $825 in cash withdrawals with were found to be improper.
The Earlville Athletic Association runs the baseball, softball and fall soccer programs. “We did identify various cash deposits into Miss Snyder’s bank account. Some were made the same day or the day after the athletic association’s events. Some of these were made during the same time frame when the association has the lowest amount deposited,” she explains. Mosiman says there may have been other questionable spending and deposits as they tried to track the deposits, but “adequate records were not available” to connect the dots.
The association collects registration fees for the sports and also earns money from concession stands during the baseball and softball seasons. The audit report says Snyder brought cash to get the concession stands started, but was very protective of the money, and did not let the parent volunteers count it when events were over. Mosiman says that is a bad sign.
“Whenever anyone reacts strongly or overreacts to types of situations like that — that is a big red flag,” according to Mosiman. Snyder was the only person overseeing the money, and Mosiman says they’ve recommended that the association ensure there is more oversight.
Copies of the report have been filed with the City of Earlville, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Delaware County Attorney’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office.