A former University of Wisconsin athletic department employee has been ordered to repay more than $7,000 he stole from accounts created for individuals when they competed for Badgers.
As reported by Todd Milewski of the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison, Marcel DuBois of Stoughton, Wis., pleaded guilty in Dane County Circuit Court last week to two felony counts of identity theft for financial gain and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, according to court records.
Ten other felony charges and one misdemeanor were dismissed as part of the plea agreement for DuBois, who admitted to cashing in money from debit cards meant for former Wisconsin athletes in 2023.
Related: Wisconsin Staffer Accused of Identity Theft, Using Player Per Diem Cards
DuBois, who worked as an athletics purchasing agent until last fall, agreed to pay restitution of $7,213.95 to the athletic department, which reimbursed the affected former players, Milewski reported.
According to Milewski, citing a March police complaint, Wisconsin uses reloadable debit cards to give athletes per diem and other approved funds so the athletic department doesn't have to issue cash. The cards stay active after a player's eligibility ends, but new cards have to be issued every five years.
DuBois, 52, was assigned to work with Badgers coaches and team operations staff to forward letters containing new cards from athletic department offices to their recipients, according to police.
An athletic department employee contacted UW-Madison police in November to report a former Wisconsin women's hockey player had unexplained transactions on her per diem card, the complaint said. The employee said they believed the transactions matched travel plans for DuBois in Colorado and Eagle River.
Per Milewski's WSJ reporting, the complaint identified 12 victims by initials who had between $50 and nearly $2,000 stolen from their debit cards. Eleven of them were unaware their cards were being used fraudulently when contacted by a UW-Madison Police Department detective in December, according to the complaint.
DuBois told police in a Dec. 21 interview that he received a batch of new cards intended for former Badgers athletes and said the bank had deducted money from some of their accounts because of a lack of activity. According to the complaint, DuBois told police he thought if he took the money, no one would notice.
DuBois had access to athletes' birthdates to create PIN numbers for the debit cards with the card number and security code, according to statements he made to police, Milewski reported.
Police identified $7,203.95 in fraudulent purchases and ATM withdrawals and $10 in transaction fees tied to DuBois.
DuBois had also served an on-ice official for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, but the league terminated his employment as a linesman after hearing of the accusations last year, supervisor of officials Greg Shepherd told the WSJ. WCHA policy doesn't disqualify athletic department employees from officiating games involving their school unless they work directly with the hockey team, and DuBois regularly officiated Badgers women's hockey games at LaBahn Arena through October, according to Milewski.
A Wisconsin athletic department spokesperson said an internal review since the money went missing prompted changes for the debit card system that are intended to prevent a recurrence, especially for athletes who no longer are in school, Milewski reported.
