Former McFarland Soccer Club treasurer Michael J. Vega, 44, was charged on Tuesday with embezzling over $264,500 from the club since 2019, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
A criminal complaint charged Vega with six counts of theft in a business setting after club officials and police suspected him of taking money from bank accounts belonging to the club through a variety of means — including transfers to his PayPal account, ATM withdrawals, Venmo transfers, and checks written to his own businesses. Earnings for a 2023 soccer tournament hosted by the club were also not deposited into its bank accounts, according to the complaint.
Vega provided limited information when he was interviewed by McFarland police in June, saying he could not recall details including names on certain accounts or the reasons certain checks were written from the club’s accounts. Vega asserted that he paid himself back for things he had bought when asked if he had ever moved money from the club’s accounts to his own PayPal or Venmo accounts. He did not respond when he was asked further questions about the club’s money or about his removal as club treasurer, ending the interview by asking to speak to a lawyer.
Police determined that the club was missing a total of $264,572.
