He presided over youth football operations. Cops say he ran away with $30K of the league’s money

A former youth football executive is under arrest for stealing nearly $30,000 from his organization.

Members of the Suncoast Youth Football Conference became wary when discrepancies were noted during an audit last May, according to Spectrum Bay News 9. At that time, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation.

Leonard Anderson, 61, was arrested for allegedly stealing more than $29,000 between December 2016 and May 2017. He used to be the organization’s president.

Detectives said Anderson used the money for personal items such as a mobile home. Ron Wimbush, the current Suncoast Youth Football Conference president, said Anderson had apparently been going through a rough patch, but if he would’ve spoken with members of the organization, they could’ve give him a hand.

“We had the meeting afterward, and I think all the presidents that were there said, ‘I wish he would’ve said something,’ that way we could have jumped in,” Wimbush told Bay News 9.

He said he couldn’t believe that Anderson had stolen not only from the football organization, but from the children as well.

“It’s the payments that we would make for our insurance,” said Wimbush. “It’s the payments that we would make for our footballs. It’s the payments that we make for the trophies at the end of the season.”

Deputies obtained a warrant for Anderson’s arrest and took him into custody Thursday. He is charged with one count of grand theft. Anderson was released from jail Thursday night after posting his $25,000 bail.

This story was originally published January 19, 2018 at 10:46 PM with the headline "He presided over youth football operations. Cops say he ran away with $30K of the league’s money."