TROY, Mo. – Organizers of a youth soccer league have been charged in Lincoln County for stealing thousands of dollars meant for the players.
“…Restaurants that they were eating at, liquor stores they were going to, tires that were being purchased for vehicles,” Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood said.
The prosecuting attorney’s office charged three former Troy Soccer League organizers with felony stealing.
President Donna Vickrey is accused of taking money exceeding $30,000 from 2018 to 2022. Former Treasurer Erica Kellock is accused of personal purchases exceeding $14,000 from 2019 to 2022. Former concessions contractor Uriah Hayes is accused of taking $3,650 for personal use in 2022.
FOX 2 spoke with defendant Hayes outside his home in Troy, where he told me he had no comment. We also spoke to defendant Vickrey at her front door. She also said she had no comment. A relative for defendant Kellock said she wasn’t home but would tell her we stopped by.
“This particular league has touched almost anybody who’s been a member of this community,” Wood said.
According to Wood, the key to cracking the case was league board members, who discovered the irregularities.
“They were not going to let this go,” he said.
Like former coach coordinator Courtney Courtney, who shared photos of some her findings in bank records. She said the toughest part was getting access to the books when she started asking, “Where’s the money for equipment and uniforms?”
“We were being told they didn’t have access to banking and so forth, which a lot of things just weren’t making sense, and they were pretty much trying to put us off, but as soon as we got the first statement, it was clear,” Courtney said.
Citizens like Cheyenne Bridges said they had long anticipated charges after reports swirled on social media for months.
Bridges said the soccer league is “…Really big part of our community. It definitely helps to bring us together.” She added, “The truth does come out. You can’t hide it forever.”
Wood said the investigation took a while, partly because the Missouri State Highway Patrol took over the case to eliminate potential local conflicts, and prosecutors wanted everything.
“We asked for a very thorough investigation,” Wood said. “So that we could get every cent and now that that’s been completed and turned over for us, we were happy to move forward with the prosecution.”
The Troy Soccer League went under due to lack of funds, but the whistleblowers started a new league called the Troy Youth Soccer Association, which they said is already doing better.