GILLETTE (WNE) — A former treasurer of two youth wrestling clubs in Gillette has pleaded guilty to theft and agreed to pay $50,000 in restitution for money he stole from them.
Sentencing for Steven D. Johnson, 44, is set for Sept. 9. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors will recommend a two- to four-year prison sentence, suspended in favor of a 30-day split sentence in county jail to be served weekends. He can argue for a sentence that involves no time in custody.
Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of theft and another count was dismissed.
Under the plea deal, he would pay $20,500 to the Camel Kids Wrestling Club and $29,500 to the Gillette Wrestling Club.
The clubs originally identified $64,827 missing since October 2017 when Johnson became treasurer of the Gillette Wrestling Club. He became treasurer of the Camel Kids Wrestling Club in June 2018.
In late August, the Camel Kids Wrestling Club had gathered evidence about Johnson’s alleged use of the club’s debit card for personal use, many of the charges made on Amazon and at Walmart, but not for club purposes.
The Gillette Wrestling Club discovered Aug. 31 that its account at Wells Fargo Bank had been closed because it was overdrawn. Board members also learned he’d drained a different account at Campco Federal Credit Union and had opened a new account at Pinnacle Bank with a $4,000 donation to the account and it was in arrears, according to an affidavit.
