No jail time for treasurer who drained B.C. little league's bank account

The former treasurer who drained the bank account of a B.C. little league will not be sent to prison.

On Wednesday, provincial court Judge Peter LaPrairie sentenced Terri Michael to serve two years less a day on a conditional sentence, which is a jail sentence that the offender is permitted to serve in the community under certain conditions.

Michael was charged last year with one count of theft over $5,000 and one count of fraud over $5,000. The sentence handed down Wednesday was for the theft charge. The fraud charge was stayed.

LaPrairie also ordered Michael to pay more than $160,000 in restitution, plus a $200 victim surcharge.

The penalties stem from Michael's time working as treasurer for Coquitlam Little League, a six-year stretch that ended in August 2020, when the league reported her theft to the RCMP.

Investigators spent almost three years looking into the case, and Michael was charged in May 2023. 

Coquitlam Little League discovered something was awry with its bank account in 2020, after hearing from some parents who had yet to receive their refund cheques, which were issued due to the baseball season being cancelled in response to COVID-19. 

On June 9 of that year, the league reported having close to $230,000 in financial assets. By August, that number had dwindled down to $3,000.

"The board of directors was shocked by these findings, as we expect you are as you read this," said Sandon Fraser, the board's president, in an email to parents at the time.

"We want to share this information with you as soon as possible and to ask for your patience as this serious matter is investigated."

After charges against Michael were announced last year, Fraser thanked families, alumni, vendors, sponsors and other baseball organizations for supporting the Coquitlam league during the investigation.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Becca Clarkson and Nafeesa Karim