Lang
3/16/23
The former president of Iowa City Pride who was under investigation for an alleged misuse of funds has reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
Court records show 37-year-old Anthony Sivanthaphanith has agreed to restitution with the victims in the case.
Sivanthaphanith reportedly admitted to investigators that he spent $8,000 in Pride funds without the board of directors’ knowledge between May and November 2021 when he was both president and treasurer. He allegedly ordered checks in his name drawn on the Pride account for which he had been issued a debit card as the treasurer.
The board, working in conjunction with the police, was able to tie the expenditures to Sivanthaphanith’s social media posts about his travels.
Police say expenditures included “transactions for hotels, gas, food, airlines, entertainment, retail and even personal bills.” The purchases reportedly occurred in at least seven states, plus several locations throughout Iowa.
The organization learned of the missing money in the fall of 2021 after a check another member wrote bounced.
Sivanthaphanith was charged with 1st Degree Theft, a Class C Felony punishable by a prison term of up to ten years if convicted. A plea hearing is set for April 17th. Terms of the plea deal reached this week have not been released.