PC: California Post
A former treasurer of an Orange County high school football booster club has been arrested on a federal indictment accusing her of defrauding the nonprofit of approximately $411,761. Julie Hanway Molina, 56, is charged with four counts of wire fraud. Prosecutors allege she wired approximately $131,523 in June 2023 to pay the delinquent balance on her home mortgage, and sent board members false treasurer reports to conceal the payments, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. It gave the same total of about $411,761 and attributed its account to the Department of Justice. The Justice Department said that in June 2023, Molina wired approximately $131,523 from the nonprofit’s bank account in Laguna Hills to an account in Santa Ana. The figure was more than $131,000 and reported the same route and destination.
As CBS LA reported, prosecutors allege Molina took the money in her role as treasurer and that the funds were diverted from the booster club’s bank account.
The US Attorney’s Office said she sent numerous emails to the nonprofit’s board members attaching false treasurer reports that did not disclose the misappropriation of funds. An indictment is merely an allegation, and Molina pleaded not guilty to all charges. The US Attorney’s Office also stated that an indictment is merely an allegation and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The transfer went through Federal Reserve facilities in New Jersey and Texas and was made to pay the delinquent balance on the mortgage on her personal residence. Prosecutors also allege that Molina tried to conceal the payments.