EVANSVILLE – The Golfmoor Baseball Association, an Evansville-based nonprofit youth sports organization, has filed a scathing civil complaint against its former president, his wife and two companies they own, accusing the couple of stealing $18,000 from the organization and embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars. a span of years.
The lawsuit names Sean Hopple, who served as president of the baseball league from 2019 through 2023, and his wife, Jessica Hopple, who previously served as treasurer and concessions manager, as defendants in addition to two of their companies.
The Golfmoor Baseball Association had already publicly outlined its allegations against Sean Hopple in an Oct. 4 press release, which it issued a day after Evansville police arrested Sean Hopple on charges of theft, a Level 6 felony.
He secured his release from the Vanderburgh County Jail after posting $1,000 bail, court records show. According to court records, prosecutors had not filed charges against Jessica Hopple as of Monday. Sean Hopple pleaded not guilty.
The civil complaint, filed Thursday, outlines alleged violations of the Hopples’ financial duty to the Golfmoor Baseball Association, which the nonprofit’s board claims it discovered after Sean Hopple abruptly resigned as president in October 2023.
According to the complaint, the Hopples used more than $18,000 from Golfmoor’s concession fund for personal purchases between January 2021 and September 2023. But the scope of the thefts went far beyond misuse of concession funds, the nonprofit alleges.
The Hopples stole “hundreds of thousands of dollars from Golfmoor,” the indictment alleges, by redirecting payments intended for employees to themselves, failing to refund baseball tournament entry fees, failing to return cash intended for concessions to cover, and by using their companies to overcharge the league for services, among other allegations.
Hopple’s arrest in October included only the alleged theft of $18,000 from Golfmoor’s concession account, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Attorney Alex Schmitt, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Brandon McClish, president of the Golfmoor Baseball Association, said the civil complaint goes further.
“The civil suit deals with the rest of the money that came through their hands,” Schmitt told Courier & Press.
Schmitt said the lawsuit names two of Hopple’s companies, KMA of Evansville LLC and Triple S. Enterprises Inc., as defendants because the companies “overcharged” Golfmoor for services. Regarding the impact the alleged thefts had on the nonprofit, Schmitt said he was “confident that Golfmoor was stuck (for cash) when it didn’t need to be.”
The case docket does not state whether Sean or Jessica Hopple had sought legal advice. Under Indiana law, defendants typically have 20 days to respond to a civil lawsuit.
You can contact Houston at houston.harwood@courierpress.com
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Lawsuit alleges Evansville baseball league chief stole thousands from his wife
