Terry Feeser
A Willow Street man who volunteered as treasurer for a church group and his child's soccer team pleaded guilty Friday to stealing more than $300,000 from the organizations.
Terry Feeser, who also pleaded guilty to identity theft and writing bad checks, will be sentenced later by Lancaster County Judge Joseph Madenspacher.
Feeser, 52, was charged with stealing about $180,000 from Penn Manor Soccer Club and about $120,000 from Landisville Camp Meeting Association.
He used the money to buy groceries and for "day-to-day living," according to court documents, but also to purchase real estate.
Police from four departments brought the charges against Feeser in December.
The charges include three counts of theft by deception; two counts each of theft, identity theft, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and securing execution of documents by deception and one count of access device fraud.
On Friday, Assistant District Attorney Charles Rieck IV presented the guilty plea to Madenspacher, who ordered a background check on Feeser before he imposes sentence.
Attorney Robert Byram is representing Feeser.
Soccer club members contacted police in the spring of 2008 when local businesses began complaining to them of unpaid bills.
Southern Regional Police Officer Adam Cramer said he discovered Feeser had been writing checks with insufficient funds, forging the names of club members and taking money from club accounts. In all, he wrote more than 190 checks to himself, according to court documents.
Angelo's Soccer Corner told police Feeser bought more than $18,000 in soccer equipment, but the check he wrote to pay for it bounced, according to the affidavit.
After Cramer started his investigation, East Hempfield Township Police Detective Tammy Marsh was notified by the Lanco Fieldhouse that it had received five bad checks totaling $1,299 from the soccer club.
She then learned from Landisville Camp Meeting Association members that more than $100,000 was missing from its account, according to the affidavit.