I am absolutely certain that this goes on all the time. My boys have been involved in regional youth football leagues for several years. A couple years ago a friend who managed a different team in the same league asked the league president for an accounting of how the funds are spent. The president promptly kicked that program out a week before the start of the season (five divisions, 150 boys.) After everyone went groveling back and were allowed back in, I sat down with my friend and did the math on player fees, gate receipts and every conceivable expense that we could dream up (always estimating on the high side.) We figured out that at a minimum $20,000 couldn’t be accounted for and it was likely closer to $25,000. Both of our programs pulled out of that league the next year, and it eventually collapsed. I’ve been told since then by parents coming and going in various sports from different parts of the country that it’s not an uncommon concern.
It isn’t just with the sports leagues. I plugged the word “embezzlement” into my search engine a few years ago and was astonished at how much of this goes on from churches to municipalities to PTOs to charities. A theme around here has been gambling. More often, than not, the perps are let off with a very light sentence.
I needed to hire a clerk with fiduciary duties for my small business a few years ago. I placed an ad and got a lot of responses. I narrowe dthem down to 3 and interviewed the applicants who all seemed good. I ran the names through Wisconsin’s Circuit Court Access website and found that 2 of my final 3 had records including “theft from employer”. I hired the third one and had to fire her a couple of months later for inappropriate behavior.
I handle all the fiduciary duties myself.