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Hupp pleads guilty to stealing from boosters

Sentencing set for Sept. 27

MARIETTA — A woman accused of stealing more than $300,000 from the Marietta Tigers athletic booster club over a period of several years pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felony theft in Washington County Common Pleas Court Monday morning.

Tara Hupp, 55, pleaded guilty to the reduced charge and waived her right to jury trial before Judge Linton Lewis, who was appointed to hear the case. Lewis set out a schedule for pre-sentencing investigation and set a sentencing date of Sept. 27.

Hupp’s attorney, George Cosenza, noted for the court that Hupp had deposited a check of $149,585 to satisfy the terms of restitution in the plea agreement. The reduced charge of fourth-degree felony has a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison and a fine of $5,000. The original indictment of third-degree felony would have carried a maximum penalty of 36 months and $10,000.

Hupp was indicted May 1, 2017, after a lengthy investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office connected her with more than $300,000 of funds missing from the booster club. She was charged with grand theft, a third-degree felony. Because Hupp also was director of the Washington County board of elections at the time – she resigned after the indictment – the Washington County Commissioners found it prudent to appoint a special prosecutor, Tom Webster, and later a special judge, Linton Lewis, to avoid any perception of conflict of interest. The county prosecutor and judges are elected officials.

Webster said after Monday’s hearing that the restitution amount paid by Hupp “is enough to satisfy the criminal charges” but he added that the amount “still might be contested.”

Mark Weihl was in the courtroom during the plea process Monday. Weihl was a Marietta City Schools board member when Hupp was indicted and has since worked with the booster club to deal with the impact of the theft, taking the position of finance director. Asked whether the club might seek to cover additional money through a civil action against Hupp, he said that would be up to the club’s board of directors, who haven’t had a chance yet to consider the plea.

Weihl said the effect of Hupp’s theft on the way the booster club manages its money was immediate and sustained.

“Changed? That would be an understatement,” he said. “There has been a change in the culture of being fiscally responsible to the opposite end of spectrum from where it used to be. There are internal controls in place, a dual signature system, back-up documentation, monthly audits and relationships with CPAs … It’s unfortunate it took this to bring these things into place.”

The club raises money for athletic teams, buying uniforms and equipment and paying for improvements to facilities that go beyond the basic provisions made in the school district’s budget for athletics.

Marietta City Schools board vice president Russ Garrison also attended the hearing Monday. Garrison said the booster club takes the athletic programs beyond the basics provided by the school district. Examples would be replacing uniforms ahead of the district’s usual schedule and improving bleachers and other parts of the facilities. The club recently bought a hydration station for use in practices to improve safety for athletes.

“The extras that change it from bare bones to more complete program, that’s the difference boosters make,” Garrison said.

Although the amount Hupp is thought to have stolen — $300,000 according to the investigation by the sheriff’s department on which the indictment was based — seems staggering, Garrison pointed out that the district has 22 athletic programs which receive support, and over the seven-year period of bank records investigated, the theft would on average have taken about $2,000 a year from each program, although that wouldn’t necessarily indicate what happened in each sport each year.

The plea entered by Hupp, with the amount making it a fourth-degree felony instead of the third-degree felony with which she was previously charged, has the potential to halve the maximum prison time and fine she faces, from 36 months and $10,000 to 18 months and $5,000.

“I think it was a fair resolution,” Cosenza said.

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