Skip to content

Soccer mom got in too deep

Swift justice it is not. The saga that is the fraud investigation, charging, prosecution and eventual court case involving a former soccer club treasurer will make it into its ninth year before it concludes.

Swift justice it is not.

The saga that is the fraud investigation, charging, prosecution and eventual court case involving a former soccer club treasurer will make it into its ninth year before it concludes.

In 2003, the Richmond Youth Soccer Association (RYSA) discovered that its volunteer treasurer - soccer mom and wellrespected community member Debbie Judd - had been embezzling from the club for five years to the tune of $204,407.

In January 2004, RYSA reported the fraud to the RCMP and the file was officially opened.

However, it took until June 2009 before charges were laid, due, in some part, to what the Richmond RCMP's ecomomic crimes unit referred to as the "complex" nature of the crime.

A further two years down the line and Judd finally appeared in court and pleaded guilty, before more delays punted the case onto this week.

After almost an entire Tuesday afternoon of mitigation and pleas at Richmond Provincial Court from Judd's lawyer, Les Mackoff, as to why Judd shouldn't be jailed for two to three years - as per the Crown's request - Judge Patrick Chen, understandably, had no option but to retire to consider the sentence. Members of the RYSA had, once more, invested their collective days to see justice being done by attending the court case in the gallery, only for them to have to wait now until January to close the book on a sorry chapter in the club's history.

The association, like many others in the local soccer community, has wondered for years why Judd took the money.

Her lawyer told the court how this fraud case is unusual because there was no mental illness or addictions to gambling, alcohol or drugs behind the theft.

Judd simply bought supplies with her own money on behalf of the club and then reembursed herself without properly recording the transactions.

Over the years, Mackoff said, Judd was writing cheques to herself which far exceeded what she had spent and was able to continue the crude practice because RYSA had "no internal safeguards and no real oversight."

"She got in slowly and then got deeper and deeper and had no idea of the extent of the fraud," he said.

? For the full story, go to www.richmondnews.com.

acampbell@richmond-news.com