Hunter
04/21/22
The Lone Tree man accused of diverting funds from a wrestling club for his personal use has pleaded guilty instead of going to trial.
Police say 41-year-old Chad Bell of 245th Street was named treasurer of the Lone Tree Little Lions Wrestling Club in 2016, and named club president in January 2017. At that time, he also reportedly assumed control of the club bank account and was listed as the only person on the account.
Authorities say from that point until August 2019, Bell withdrew and spent money from the club account for personal use until the account was nearly empty. Records indicate that on August 14th of that year, Bell cashed in Wrestling Club CDs in excess of $8000, deposited them into the club account, and continued spending the club money for his personal use.
Investigators have alleged that Bell used the money to pay for restaurants, online shopping, recreation, payment for his personal tax preparation, and a towing bill. They estimate the alleged loss at the hands of Bell at approximately $19,000.
Bell was originally charged in July 2020 with Theft in the 1st degree, a Class C felony punishable by a prison term of up to ten years if convicted. Court records indicate that Bell was originally scheduled to be tried by jury on December 8th, 2020, but was delayed due to the ongoing pandemic and trial was reset to this April 12th.
Bell pleaded guilty on April 11th. As part of a plea agreement, the charges were lowered to 3rd degree theft, an aggravated misdemeanor. Judge Chad Kepros deferred judgement on April 12th and gave Bell one year of probation. A court-ordered payment plan was filed on April 13th, but the details were not provided.