Police have arrested a 32-year-old Norwalk man who is accused of embezzling nearly $30,000 from a girls’ youth basketball league in Stamford.
Michael Paul Lanuk, of 55 Stuart Ave., faces first-degree larceny charges after Stamford police arrested him by warrant at 7:44 a.m. Tuesday.
According to Stamford police Sgt. Peter diSpagna of the Detective Bureau, Lanuk is accused of writing 10 checks for about two months, starting on Sept. 17, 2011, from the account of the Stamford Youngtimers Basketball League. In total, he's accused of embezzling $29,480, police said.
“What he did was he wrote out checks, unauthorized checks by which he profited,” diSpagna said.
Lanuk had had access to the organization’s checking account as a board member who served as treasurer, diSpagna said.
An official with the league reported the problem to police on Dec. 31, diSpagna said. Officials with the league could not immediately be reached for comment. It is not clear whether the league is a nonprofit organization. The IRS website has no record of a “Stamford Youngtimers Basketball League” as a 501(c)(3) organization eligible to receive tax deductible contributions.
It isn’t clear what Lanuk may have spent the money on, police said. Accoridng to diSpagna, the individual amounts of the checks included:
- $1,200
- $375
- $1,100
- $2,800
- $1,700
- $466
- $1,900
- $3,800
- $2,900
- $1,900
Lanuk was released on $1,500 bond and scheduled to appear April 10 in state Superior Court in Stamford.
