A former Lakeville South High School softball coach is accused of falsifying invoices in order to steal $15,500 from a youth sports booster club.
Eric Carlyle Heflin, 65, of Rosemount, was charged Wednesday in Dakota County District Court with three felony counts of theft by swindle in connection with the alleged theft from a Lakeville youth booster club from December 2018 through July 2020.
At the time of the alleged thefts, Heflin was the varsity softball coach at Lakeville South.
Attempts to reach Heflin Wednesday for comment were unsuccessful.
According to the criminal complaint, in September Lakeville police received a report of possible misappropriation of funds by Heflin, who had been the Lakeville South softball coach since October 2018. As head coach, he was responsible for the selection and purchase of equipment.
It was initially reported that he submitted an invoice to the booster club requesting reimbursement for $2,365 for work to the school’s softball field. The invoice indicated the work was done by ABC Concrete and Laser Grading located in Farmington. But investigators discovered the company does not exist, and it appeared to be a falsified invoice, prosecutors allege.
Further investigation uncovered nine other alleged falsified invoices that Heflin submitted to the booster club for things such as use of an indoor practice facility and purchasing softball equipment and uniforms, according to the criminal complaint.
When questioned by a detective over the phone about the alleged fraudulent transactions, charges say, Helfin initially denied any knowledge of the transactions before then saying he was not sure if he submitted any “homemade” invoices to the booster club. He later acknowledged in one instance that he had made up the invoices he had submitted, the complaint alleges.
Heflin was charged by summons and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the charges Jan. 5.
“Any theft of monies intended to support youth athletics is very disturbing,” Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom said in a statement. “The alleged victims in this case include not just the booster club, but all those who donated money to this organization.”
The Link LonkNovember 26, 2020 at 06:50AM
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Former Lakeville South High softball coach accused of stealing $15K from booster club - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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