Abington Man Accused of Stealing from Kids’ Sports Clubs Waives Prelim

Michael H. Hrouda, 36, of the 200 block of Cricket Avenue, in the North Hills section of Abington, was arrested in July after he allegedly stole a total of about $40,000 from two local children’s sports organizations — the Ardsley North Hills Athletic Association and the Abington Bulldogs Youth Wrestling Club — while serving on their respective boards.

According to the criminal complaint, Hrouda was the treasurer of the Ardsley North Hills Athletic Association from May 2010 until July 2012 and was the president and treasurer of the Abington Bulldogs from 2008 until 2012. The complaint alleges that Hrouda stole between $14,000 and $16,000 from the Bulldogs and about $25,000 from the Ardsley organization for personal use.

The president of the Ardsley North Hills Athletic Association said his organization was in the process of obtaining its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status from the IRS in January 2012 when he asked Hrouda to produce the association’s financial records. According to the criminal complaint, Hrouda initially said he would provide them, but later said he lost them in June 2012. Hrouda also told the president that he had a box at his house with some of the association’s records, receipts and $3,800, which he said he removed from the association’s bank account without permission, according to the criminal compliant; Hrouda later reimbursed the association a total of $4,126.

The association’s president said based on a treasury analysis, Hrouda made 28 cash withdrawals that were determined to be thefts between May 2010 and August 2012 from the association’s two bank accounts; the total amount was about $24,600, according to the criminal complaint. Hrouda also wrote four checks to Best Buy, in which he bought about $1,200 in computer gear, without permission.

As for the Bulldogs, when the club installed a new president and treasurer in November 2012, they found that the club had a bank account balance of $184, according to the complaint. A review of the club’s bank records revealed that Hrouda had inappropriately used between $14,000 and $16,000 of the Abington Bulldogs’ funds for personal use, including household bills, according to the criminal complaint.

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Hrouda waived his preliminary hearing on Monday morning in front of District Judge Patricia Zaffarano. According to court documents, he is facing several counts of forgery, theft, identity theft and tampering of records. He is scheduled to be formally arraigned Nov. 6 at 9:30 a.m. in Norristown. 

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Check back later for an update. 

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Originally posted Sept. 20 at 4:26 a.m.