Houston PD officer, also president of little league group, accused of misappropriation of funds
HPD officer, who is also president of little league group, accused of misappropriation of league funds
FOX 26 Reporter Randy Wallace spoke with parents and those affected after a lawsuit was filed against a Houston Police Officer, who is also the president of a little league group, accusing his of misappropriation of league funds.
HOUSTON - According to the lawsuit, HPD Officer Maria Butron has been president of Heights-Norhill Little League for nearly five years.
A temporary restraining order is now in place prohibiting Butron and her husband from touching money belonging to the little league.
In the lawsuit, Butron is accused of failing to provide any receipts supporting documentation or explanation for several charges and/or withdrawals from the account belonging to Heights-Norhill Little League Incorporated.
The lawsuit also states Butron failed to provide account statements for electronic payment systems, which she has sole control of.
"I know on opening day, we had taken in cash and PayPal that day, also Venmo, but I didn't have access to any of those accounts," said Little League treasurer Amanda Pappas. "Then there was no cash actually deposited into our bank account after opening day."
In the lawsuit, Maria Butron and her husband are accused of expending more than $20,000 in little league funds for unapproved and undocumented expenses.
"It could be more, it could be less," said little league parent Markos Pappas. "I guess the big question is, where are the receipts? That's what we are looking for, answers."
Pappas says she brought up the financial discrepancies during a recent little league board meeting.
"I think it's now Maria's turn to give her side and she just said no comment, so she didn't have anything to say," Pappas said.
Butron being a police officer makes the allegations more disturbing to Markos Pappas.
"The big question is why?" he said. "We've asked, she said no comment. That's absolutely frustrating."
"I just know that everybody should be taking this very seriously, doing their due diligence to make sure that if there is something inappropriate happening, that they're responding to it correctly and make sure we move forward," said little league parent V.J. Arizpe.
We reached out to Butron for comment. We've yet to hear anything back.