A Minnesota high school athletic director is on unpaid leave, facing allegations of theft of more than $100,000 in athletic ticket sales.
According to ABC affiliate KSTP 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, a search warrant was filed in court on Friday morning that asked a judge to freeze Como Park High School athletic director Mike Searles’ Credit Union bank account. St. Paul School District officials told investigators that Searles had only deposited $22,000 out of approximately $140,000 the school made on ticket sales, leaving the remainder unaccounted for.
Searles’ banking information, including deposit slips, loan files, work papers and online banking dating back to 2009 are all subject to investigation.
Searles’ denies all the allegations against him, his attorney told KSTP. He intends to fight to defend his reputation.
The district may move to fire Searles in coming weeks, his attorney said. He remains on unpaid leave, and would fight against his termination if it came to pass.
