LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- Half a million dollars meant for local high school students is missing, and three JCPS faculty members are being sued.
Now problems with Fern Creek High School's Athletic Association have come to a head as the IRS slapped the non-profit with a $200,000 bill for unpaid taxes.
Charitable bingo brought big business to the Fern Creek Traditional High School Athletic Association between 2005 and 2009.
Tim Fries of the Fern Creek H.S. Athletic Association says, "We have a gaming operation that grosses approximately 1.8 to two million dollars a year." Now it seems the money intended to support high school sports programs didn't always go to the right place.
The IRS audit reveals documents altered documents, poor record keeping, and $135,000 dollars in inventory missing. Things like prizes for the bingo hall vanished.
As prosecuting attorney David Ward puts it, "From 2005 to 2009 there was never a tax return filed for the organization. Uncle Sam wants his money.
Fries says, "According to the IRS, they did not act as a non-profit and therefore they're taxed as a C- corporation and assessment of taxes, interest and penalties going back to 2005 is the sum of $212,000."
Fries took over the athletic association in 2010 when his child still attended the school. Now he's gong after the officers of the organization during the time in question. The civil suit names Fern Creek Athletic Director Troy Johnson, Assistant Principal Jarrad Durham, and Timothy Amshoff as defendants.
We're told they all worked with the school's baseball team.
Fries says, "Also in there, there's approximately from this report $487,000 missing, I'll use the term the IRS used with me. Missing, unaccounted for, been misappropriated, stolen, and embezzled."
WDRB News called all three JCPS faculty members for comment, but none of them answered the phone. But WDRB uncovered in the audit that Johnson cried asking investigators what consequences they faced. Amshoff stated he felt bingo workers may have been taking money.
Ward says, "When you're dealing with charitable gaming and bingo and pull tabs there's a lot of cash."
And Fries says, "I just hope what's right is right, and if something is due to student athletes at FC than they get what's theirs."
JCPS would not comment on pending litigation and the results of its internal investigation into the missing money were not available by our deadline.
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