The former president of the Mustang Touchdown Club, the Mustang Public Schools football booster club, has been charged with embezzling nearly $10,000 from the organization.

Reports indicate that a random audit of the organization in March 2018 turned up "accounting irregularities." According to a press release by the Canadian County Sheriff's Office, the audit, conducted by an independent CPA firm, revealed 21 withdrawals in excess of $9,000. Of those withdrawals, more than $6,000 had no supporting receipts.

When school officials became aware of this discrepancy and lack of documentation, they contacted the Canadian County Sheriff's Office. The agency conducted a forensic audit of the booster club account and determined that Raymond Craig Davis, 48, of Oklahoma City, the club's president, had been unlawfully using the club's funds for personal use.

According to the investigation, Davis opened a second booster club account during an interim between two executive boards. He reportedly never told the new board about the second account.

Investigators say Davis ran more than $269,000 through both accounts during an 18-month period, and he embezzled more than $10,000 by running it through the original account. Investigators say the majority of the purchases were food and convenience store purchases ranging from $1.50 to $15.00.

When questioned by investigators, Davis denied the existence of a second account on at least three occasions. However, when he was confronted with evidence of the second account, he claimed to have used the account to buy meals for donors. Investigators say he was unable to name a single donor whose meals he bought through the account.

Deputies say Davis eventually admitted that he closed the second account when he realized that he was under investigation, pocketing the account's last 62 cents as a justified gas expense. 

Davis was arrested in early May, and earlier this month, he was charged with a single count of embezzlement. Under 21 O.S. § 1451, embezzlement of $2,500 to less than $15,000 is a felony punishable by a maximum of 5 years in prison, a fine of $5,000, and restitution to the victim.

Effective November 1, 2018, the state's embezzlement laws will change as a part of criminal justice reform legislation passed earlier this year. The new law changes the threshold for penalties as follows:

1. If the value of the property embezzled is less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), any person convicted shall be punished by a fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not more than one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment;

2. If the value of the property embezzled is One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more but less than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), any person convicted shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term of not more than five (5) years, and a fine of not exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), and ordered to pay restitution to the victim as provided in Section 99lf of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes; or

3. If the value of the property embezzled is Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or more, any person convicted shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term of not more than ten (10) years, and a fine not exceeding Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), and ordered to pay restitution to the victim as provided in Section 991 f of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

The penalties will be imposed under the new law for crimes occurring on or after November 1, 2018.