FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 18NF2488
Date: September 6, 2018
VOLUNTEER TREASURER CHARGED WITH NUMEROUS COUNTS OF FORGERY AND GRAND THEFT AFTER EMBEZZLING OVER ONE MILLION DOLLARS FROM YOUTH SPORTS CHARITY
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A volunteer treasurer was charged with numerous counts of forgery and grand theft after embezzling over one million dollars from youth sports charity.
| Defendant | Charges | Maximum Sentence | Court Date |
| Jose Antonio Urrutia, 64, Placentia | Charged on Sept. 5, 2018, with the following felony counts
Sentencing Enhancements
|
130 years in state prison | Arraignment
Sept. 7, 2018, 10:00 a.m.
Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana |
Circumstances of the Case
- At the time of the crimes, Urrutia was the volunteer treasurer for Junior United Soccer Association (JUSA) of Anaheim, the volunteer treasurer for the International Seafarers Center in Long Beach, and a certified public accountant in the finance department at the Port of Long Beach.
- Between April 2008 and Sept. 2013, Urrutia is accused of forgery and grand theft by writing false checks and taking money and personal property from JUSA, violating his position of trust.
- The defendant is accused of embezzling over $850,000 from JUSA and over $370,000 from the International Seafarers Center of Long Beach.
- In Nov. 2014, JUSA planned to issue payroll before the Thanksgiving holiday. When they requested Urrutia to complete the payroll, he is accused of not responding via email.
- An employee of JUSA logged into the charity’s bank accounts and reported that there was no money to cover the payroll.
- When they attempted to contact the defendant after this discover, Urrutia is accused of sending in his resignation via email.
- On Sept. 6, 2018, the Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) Bureau of Investigation, who investigated this case, arrested the defendant on an arrest warrant.
Prosecutor: Senior Deputy District Attorney Marc Labreche, Major Fraud Unit