The owner of a Gwinnett County umpiring association faces 32 counts of theft for allegedly taking tens of thousands of dollars from youth sports groups.
And he’s accused of spending some of the money on hookers.
“If you are going to use it, use it for something you need ... but don't use it for hookers,” former Gwinnett County area softball umpire Henry Eason told Channel 2 Action News.
Prosecutors told Channel 2 that Tim Ryan, 55, stole more than $50,000 in 2016 from Gwinnett area athletic associations, which would’ve supplied umpires for games at Rabbit Hill Park.
“Those umpires would not be paid. Some would be paid late,” Assistant District Attorney Brandon Delfunt told the news station. “He would pay with checks he wouldn’t sign or checks he knew would bounce.”
Delfunt said Ryan confessed to spending a chunk of the nearly $22,000 he personally kept to pay for escorts on the website backpage.com, Channel 2 reported.
“(The website) is no longer operational,” Delfunt said. “The FBI has closed that website, but he was paying for a number of websites using those funds.”
Ryan’s lawyer did not respond to Channel 2’s request for comment. He was already out on bond on four charges filed last year in relation to this case.
Prosecutors told the news station they’ve found 28 victims so far, but believe there are many more, including referees from the 2016 fall basketball leagues that Ryan also organized.
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