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    • Lawsuit claims Evansville Major League Baseball boss wife stole thousands
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    Lawsuit claims Evansville Major League Baseball boss wife stole thousands

    Online Niel Posted on

    EVANSVILLE – The Golfmoor Baseball Association, an Evansville youth sports nonprofit, has filed a scathing civil complaint against its former president, his wife and two companies they own, accusing the two of stealing 18,000 dollars from the organization and that they embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars over a period of years.

    The lawsuit names Sean Hopple, who served as the league’s president from 2019 to 2023, and his wife, Jessica Hopple, who previously served as treasurer and concessions manager, as defendants along with two of their businesses.

    The Golfmoor Baseball Association already detailed its allegations against Sean Hopple in an Oct. 4 press release, which it released one day after Evansville police arrested Sean Hopple on theft chargesa Level 6 felony.

    He secured his release from the Vanderburgh County Jail after posting $1,000 bond, court records show. Prosecutors had not filed charges against Jessica Hopple as of Monday, according to court records. Sean Hopple pleaded not guilty.

    civil complaint, filed on Thursdayoutlines the Hopples’ alleged breaches of financial obligation Golfmoor Baseball Association which the nonprofit’s board says it discovered after Sean Hopple abruptly resigned as president in October 2023.

    According to the complaint, the Hopple family used more than $18,000 of Golfmoor’s concession fund for personal purchases between January 2021 and September 2023. But the scope of the thefts extended far beyond the misuse of concession funds, the nonprofit alleges.

    Hopple “stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Golfmoor,” the lawsuit alleges, by diverting staff payments to themselves, not returning baseball tournament entry fees, not returning cash intended to cover concessions and using their businesses to overcharge. league for services, among other charges.

    Hopple’s arrest in October involved only the alleged theft of $18,000 from Golfmoor’s concessions account, according to a probable cause affidavit. Attorney Alex Schmitt, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Golfmoor Baseball Association President Brandon McClish, said the civil complaint is moving forward.

    “The civil suit takes care of all the rest of the money that was coming through their hands,” Schmitt told the Courier & Press.

    Schmitt said the lawsuit names two of Hopple’s businesses, KMA of Evansville LLC and Triple S. Enterprises Inc., as defendants because the companies “charged” Golfmoor for services. As for the impact the alleged thefts have had on the nonprofit, Schmitt said he’s “certainly Golfmoor was stuck (for money) when it shouldn’t have been.”

    The filing does not say whether Sean or Jessica Hopple received legal counsel. Under Indiana law, defendants typically have 20 days to respond to a civil lawsuit.

    Houston can be reached at [email protected]

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