The ex-treasurer of Coquitlam Little League wept before a provincial court judge today, Oct. 1, after admitting to stealing from the baseball community.
Terri April Michael pleaded guilty in September 2023 to one charge of theft over $5,000 after an RCMP investigation into missing funds started in 2020.
Crown Counsel Jim Bird told Judge Peter La Prairie that Michael, 66, took $273,000 from the sporting organization over a seven-year period while she was its treasurer. Bird claimed she has repaid the nonprofit $110,000 — a statement that Coquitlam Little League president Sandon Fraser disputes.
In her address to the court at the end of the day-long sentencing hearing, Michael stepped forward to speak about how she “made the worst decision of her life” in 2014 by taking small amounts of cash from the local league.
Bird said she took between $40,000 and $70,000 a year for seven years.
Michael said her intention was to pay back the money to the league, which attracts 700 players under the age of 16 in its regular- and post-seasons.
However, by 2018, she became worried she couldn’t pay back the money, which Bird said was used to pay off household expenses and debt; he also told the judge she gambled on a phone app to alleviate her anxiety disorder.
Michael said when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and the league was trying to reimburse registration fees to Tri-City families for the cancelled season, “I realized I was in way over my head” and she confessed the theft to her husband, Bruce, the league’s secretary at the time, and to family and friends, and she resigned from the volunteer position she held on the board.
She read from her statement, “I take full responsibility for the monumental problems I caused to the Coquitlam Little League […] I wish every day that I could make it up to everyone concerned. I apologize for taking up court time and I’m so sorry to the little league community. It was a massive mistake.”
Judge La Prairie reserved his decision to a later date; however, both Crown and defence are seeking a provincial sentence of two years less a day: a custodial sentence from the prosecutor and a house arrest from the defence.
Both lawyers are also seeking restitution — the $163,000 balance owing to the league, Bird said — while defence Justin Myers is asking for a schedule of payments of up to $250 a month as Michael is retired and on a pension.
Position of trust
During Tuesday’s hearing, Bird noted the league had no fraud insurance, Michael’s actions prevented the league from purchasing much-needed gear and the volunteer board was “very disappointed” given her position of trust.
“All the people putting in these countless hours […] were taken advantage of,” Fraser wrote in the league’s victim impact statement to the court.
Bird told the judge the mitigating factors in the case are that Michael has no previous convictions, she pleaded guilty early, she is remorseful, she has sought counselling for the past four years and she has health issues like MS.
And he said the stigma of the offence, combined with the publicity, has caused her embarrassment and public shame, and she has been ostracized.
Should the judge not agree to the jail sentence, Bird suggested a house arrest for eight months and 100 hours of community work service.
By contrast, Myers is seeking a conditional sentence order — a form of incarceration but in the community — as she doesn’t pose a public risk.
Myers said his client is unable to pay back the full amount to the league.
Alternatively, he suggested the judge render a “short, sharp sentence” in jail given Michael has been living under conditions since her arrest in May 2023, including to go to counselling and not to have contact with the league.
The discovery of the missing funds came a few months after Coquitlam Little League’s 11/12 All-Stars won the national championships and represented Canada in Williamsport, Pa., the home of the Little League World Series.
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