The District Attorney’s Office in Lafayette, La., is investigating possible misuse by an athletics department employee of a University of Louisiana, based on a report by a state auditor.
As reported by The Acadiana Advocate, assistant district attorney Frederick Welter confirmed Wednesday that the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has launched an investigation.
“I can confirm that I have been assigned LLA case involving UL Lafayette Athletics and am handling it, but it is under investigation so I cannot comment on it,” he wrote via email.
In a report issued in June the Louisiana Legislative Auditor noted possibly erroneous charges by a football recruiter who resigned in January and who allegedly submitted false documents to get paid for unallowed alcohol and food costs, Claire Taylor of the Advocate reported.
The employee’s action may violate the state’s LaCarte credit card and travel policy, as well as state law.
Former associate athletics director Troy Wingerter, who oversaw recruiter spending, was forced to retire June 30 after more than 40 years with the Ragin’ Cajuns.
In a prepared statement, Wingerter said no one personally benefited from the questioned expenditures. He attributed the issues to shortcomings in training, communication and oversight, telling one news organization the charges should have been to the UL Foundation instead of the department’s LaCarte card.
The university’s purchasing department discovered that a recruiter submitted false documentation to justify some expenses from November 2024 through March 2025. The situation was reported to the university’s Human Resources Department and Office of Internal Audit, which investigated and issued a report March 16.
The UL Internal Auditor’s Office reported that the recruiter instructed vendors to disguise unallowable alcohol and food charges on receipts by listing them as "room rentals" or "event deposits," the Louisiana Legislative Auditor reported. Nine expenses totaling $5,084 were confirmed in part to have been misrepresented by the recruiter, the LAA noted, as reported by Taylor of the Advocate.
Wingerter, while disputing aspects of the audit's conclusions, said he accepts responsibility as a senior administrator for the oversight that occurred, the Advocate reported.
The Current of Lafayette reported Tuesday that Wingerter most recently served as associate athletic director and chief of staff for football. It’s unconfirmed whether he is the supervisor named in the audit.
According to reporting by Dean Boudreaux and Leslie Turk of The Current, citing a Wingerter interview with talk radio station KPEL, Wingerter acknowledged he was responsible for approving departmental spending but said he was not the direct supervisor for every member of the football staff.
"He described the spending at the center of the audit as connected to 'parent socials,' gatherings held for recruits’ parents after official visits, separate from any events involving the recruits themselves," Boudreaux and Turk reported. "Wingerter said the events were paid for through an annual recruiting fundraiser and noted that the dispute came down to who was billed rather than whether the spending itself was allowed."
Per The Current, records indicate the university did not promptly notify state auditors and the district attorney’s office, as required by state law, of that false documentation and two other incidents involving a total of $77,000 in misappropriated or unauthorized funds.
According to the internal findings obtained by The Current, the recruiter’s supervisor approved the expense reports without meaningful review, despite being present at some of the events where the prohibited charges were made.
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office classified the conduct as a misappropriation, saying the charges may violate the state’s LaCarte card and travel policy, as well as state law.
