In Mission Viejo, CA at Saddleback Valley High School a football coach
has been fired for receiving illegal kickbacks from an athletic supply
company that is known for being involved in similar schemes. Apparently
the coach, Mike Milner, along with two others, was receiving thousands
of dollars in checks and gifts from this company. Scott Orloff, the head
football coach and Mike Gonzales the head baseball coach, were in on this
scheme as well and both have been accused of accepting these illegal goods
as a means of personal profit. Though they were involved in the schemes,
they remain teachers and are not allowed to handle any of the purchases
or make any sign offs for receiving items.
The Orange County community is experiencing many coaches who are involved
in similar crimes, a neighboring school distract last year let go of three
teacher/coaches as well as taking disciplinary actions against another
four. It is said that both cases were involved with Lapes Athletics, a
company that filed for bankruptcy back in 2008 and the company created
two ways for which they could make extra money for the coaches. One of
the ways being that the initial charge for a product would be made higher
and whatever was left would then be directly transferred into the coaches
personal banking account.
Also, the Lapes company would “refund” the money back to the
coach’s accounts rather than to the original purchaser, which would
be the school or school district. The Saddleback school is taking measures
to ensure that these events do not occur again, this includes hiring an
auditor to keep track of the money and spending within the school. During
their investigation the auditors came to the conclusion that the accused
were guilty of no wrongdoing, but rather lacked understanding in good
purchasing decisions. The school in turn is requiring teachers and coaches
to take training sessions discuss wise purchases and the specific procedures
required bit the district to see to it that these miscalculations don’t
happen again.
While in this specific situation, the school districts decided not to turn
their employees over to the authorities, believing that the actions taken
were sufficient, it cannot be guaranteed that these actions won’t
be brought up again in the future. In the event that a person involved
in a similar situation is brought before authorities, having a strong
criminal defense attorney on their side is imperative.
Knowles Law Firm has years of experience defending individuals accused of a variety of
crimes. If you or someone you know is in a similar situation, you may
need a defense attorney to fight on your behalf. Contact us today for
more information and a case evaluation!