Galt police arrest suspect in Liberty Ranch High School embezzlement case

A suspect connected to the theft of almost $200,000 from the Liberty Ranch High School Athletics Booster Club has been arrested by the Galt Police Department.

The high school’s athletic booster club supports 400 student athletes and school sports programs, the Police Department said in a Friday news release.

In March, the Galt Police Department was notified that $200,000 of the club’s funds were missing after a board member audited the group’s account. Galt Police arrested the club’s treasurer, who police said is the “primary suspect,” after investigating the case. Throughout the investigation, Galt police detectives searched multiple businesses where “unauthorized purchases were suspected,” the news release read. Search warrants were also made to the club treasurer’s residence, where several electronic devices and financial records were obtained as a result, Galt police stated.

“Over several months, detectives authored and served multiple search warrants to various businesses, including Costco, Walmart, Amazon, Instacart, and City of Galt utilities,” the news release stated.

On Wednesday, the suspect was “taken into custody without incident” at their business in Elk Grove after police learned they weren’t home, the news release from Galt Police stated. The suspect was later booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail with felony embezzlement charges. Their bail has been set to $10,000, and online jail records show they were released from the jail Friday.

“This case is particularly troubling because the impact reaches far beyond the theft itself,” Galt Police Department’s news release stated. “It represents a betrayal of trust against an entire community devoted to supporting our Galt youth.”