Jackson man accused of stealing from youth football fund

The former president and treasurer of the Jackson Area Youth Football foundation faces charges claiming he stole more than $25,000 from the organization over a two-year period.

Police said Timothy E. Smith admitted to giving a loan from JAYF to a woman who had lost her job and got behind on her bills.

Smith was charged Thursday, April 25, with the Class C Felony of stealing, according to a news release issued by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office. Associate Judge Frank Miller set a cash-only bond of $10,000.

The information came to police from the current treasurer Ronnie Maxwell. According to a probable-cause statement, Smith pulled Maxwell aside and informed him of the loan. Smith admitted to Maxwell “that he was sorry for the poor decision he had made with using JAYF funds.”

Maxwell began auditing the account and statements and noticed the alleged misappropriation of funds by Smith, according to a probable-cause statement. The account “was being used as what seemed to be a personal account with funds being sent repeatedly to a female named Angela Martinez and other members through Cash App.” Transactions were being made to an adult website and to various restaurants.

According to the probable-cause statement, Smith was using JAYF funds for personal use from April 2021 through June 1.

The Jackson Area Youth Football Foundation, listed as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, filed 990-N forms every year from 2010 to 2018, according to the IRS website. It has not filed a 990 form since 2018, and appears to have had its tax-exempt status revoked. The IRS not-for-profit website shows a revocation date of April 15, 2022, but no reinstatement date. The latest 990 filing in 2018 did not show detailed financial data because it is an organization with gross receipts not greater than $50,000.