Wilson charged with embezzling from fastpitch association

The treasurer of the Havre Girls Fastpitch Association has been charged with embezzling more than $10,000 from the association.

Leigh M. Wilson was charged in state District Court in Havre with a felony count of theft by obtaining unauthorized control.

Judge Kaydee Snipes Ruiz has scheduled an arraignment hearing, in which the defendant usually enters an initial plea, for Jan. 30 at 9:30 a.m.

According to a court document, the secretary of the Havre Girls Fastpitch Association contacted Havre police April 29, 2021, to report that Wilson had been using money from the association’s account for the past couple of years.

The association officer said she and the association’s president and vice president had met the previous day to discuss the association’s finances and became suspicious when Wilson, who did not show up for the meeting, the document said.

The president and vice president have access to the accounts but only the treasurer has access to the debit card and checks for the account, the secretary said. They also discovered the online passwords for the accounts had been changed, the document said.

The investigating officer reviewed the account statements which showed that Wilson had used the association debit card and checks to make withdrawals and payments between April 24, 2019, and April 20, 2021, the document said.

The court document said that Wilson came down to the police station May 17, 2021, and, after being read her Miranda warnings, agreed to talk without an attorney being present.

Wilson said she may have used the account accidentally, the court document said, and agreed to provide the Havre Police Department with copies of the receipts. By May 28, she had not provided any of the receipts.

The document said that the association secretary told the Havre Police Department May 31 that it had determined that $10,764.25 had been made in fraudulent charges.