POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – Former Portneuf Valley Soccer Club President Cristie Stone appeared in court for the first time on July 7 since the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office filed criminal charges on June 16.
The charges stem from an internal audit of the soccer club’s financial statements, which court documents allege uncovered a string of suspicious transactions traced to Stone and her ICCU account.
RELATED: Former Portneuf Valley Soccer Club President charged with Felony Grand Theft
Stone is accused of embezzling almost $220,000 from the soccer club account, which was linked to her personal credit card with Idaho Central Credit Union. According to the incident report, when the soccer club board pressed Stone about the transactions, she claimed not to have noticed the two accounts were linked.
During the arraignment this afternoon, Stone’s defense attorney Richard Block waived the reading of the criminal complaint. Judge Eric Hunn stated the charge for felony grand theft is punishable by 1-14 years in prison and/or a $5000 fine.
Judge Hunn then set Stone’s preliminary hearing date for Tuesday, July 21, at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Cousins. Stone is not currently in custody as she awaits her hearing date.
Stone has not entered a plea, and her counsel declined to comment at this time.
This is an ongoing investigation and case; Local News 8 will provide additional details as the case develops.
