UPDATE | Just days following her arrest on charges of embezzling $174,000 from the Fullerton Rangers Youth Soccer Club, 41-year-old Laura Alicia Zellerbach of Long Beach pleaded guilty today to her charges and was immediately sentenced to one year in jail.
Zellerbach was also placed on five years of formal probation and ordered to pay $227,000 in restitution—$106,000 of which she has already paid back, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
According to Fullerton police Sgt. Kathryn Hamel, the initial complaint from the soccer club alleged Zellerbach had stolen at least $30,000 from the organization, but an investigation determined the amount was much higher.
Zellerbach had used the funds to pay for a European vacation for her children, according to prosecutors.
City News Service contributed to this report.
PREVIOUSLY: Long Beach Woman Arrested for Allegedly Embezzling Youth Soccer Organization’s Funds
02/03/16 at 5:21PM | A Long Beach woman who was the former treasurer of a youth soccer club in Fullerton was arrested today on a warrant that charged her with embezzling $174,000 from the organization.
According to a release issued by the Fullerton Police Department (FPD) today, Laura Zellerbach, 41, was arrested in the City of Lakewood today, months after the FPD received a crime report from the Fullerton Rangers Soccer Club that alleged Zellerbach embezzled an excess of $30,000 in funds from their organization.
The report, filed in May 2015, alleged that the funds were embezzled during Zellerbach’s tenure as treasurer of the organization, from 2012 to 2014.
An investigation by the FPD revealed more than $174,000 had been embezzled by Zellerbach during her time as treasurer, according to the release.
Detectives of the Crimes Property Unit obtained an arrest warrant for Zellerbach on February 2, according to the FPD. Charges issued in the warrant consist of money laundering, forgery of records, grand theft, misappropriation of property and embezzlement.
Zellerbach is being held in Fullerton’s jail in lieu of $250,000 bail, according to police officials.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Above, left: Photo courtesy of the Fullerton Police Department.