Union City: Ex-Little League treasurer charged with felony embezzlement of $66,000 in league funds
UNION CITY — A former treasurer of a youth baseball league has been charged with felony embezzlement for allegedly stealing around $66,000 while she handled the league’s finances, court records show.
Jennifer Mandigal, 46, was charged with a single count of felony embezzlement over time. She pleaded not guilty on March 7 and remains out of custody while the charges are pending, according to court records.
Mandigal served as the treasurer for the West National Little League in Union City from 2018 until November 2022. Police say that another league official became suspicious of Mandigal in October 2022, when she failed to provide documentation of league expenditures. In late October, the Little League board called a meeting where Mandigal was supposed to do a presentation on the league’s finances, but authorities say she failed to show up.
By the end of the police investigation, authorities determined the league’s losses were around $66,000. Mandigal allegedly embezzled the money by writing checks to herself and making personal expenses in the league’s name. The charging records allege the embezzlement started in 2019.
When confronted, she allegedly wrote a confession letter saying she took the money out of desperation because of personal problems, including a relative with serious health concerns. Mandigal called it a “terrible mistake” that she deeply regrets, according to police. She allegedly offered to pay back the money through a payment plan, but claimed she had only taken around $25,000.
Mandigal’s attorney didn’t respond to a request for comment.
This is only the latest time a Bay Area youth sports official has been charged with embezzlement. It has happened twice in Pleasanton, most recently in 2020, when a Little League board president there was charged with embezzling $22,000. In 2016, a youth football league official was accused of taking $200,000 from the league’s coffers. Typically, those accused are able to avoid incarceration, but are ordered to pay restitution and other penalties.