North Texas youth cheer group president spent stolen $20K on food, liquor, retail stores and more: warrant
MAYPEARL, Texas - An Ellis County woman is accused of stealing thousands of dollars meant for young cheerleaders.
Police say she stole nearly $20,000 from the Maypearl Youth Cheer Association and used the money to fund her own lifestyle.
Maypearl is a small town of less than 1,000 people located 40 miles southwest of Dallas.
Authorities say Ashley Nicole Boston embezzled nearly $20,000 from the Maypearl Youth Cheer Association, the group she used to run.
Kayla Williams is now the current president of the association.
"Disappointment and just that sickening feeling that you get when you know something’s wrong, but there’s not really anything you can do about it because what’s done is done," she said.
Dozens of elementary school-aged kids cheer for the association connected to youth football. Games are played on the high school’s field. Boston was the former president.
"She handled all of the ordering, all of the money, all of the fundraising. She did everything on her own," Williams said.
According to an arrest warrant, Williams and other moms "found out that equipment had not been ordered because the money was not in the accounts…" last year. They told Boston she needed to turn over accounts to them.
"So we all sat down and spent countless hours trying to make sense of things," Williams said.
After an audit, it was determined that between 2020 and 2023, Boston allegedly used $19,417 of the association’s money on payments to grocery, liquor and retail stores, nail salons and even direct deposits to her own Venmo account.
The Maypearl Police Department’s investigation took the better part of a year. But on June 27, a felony theft warrant was issued for Boston, who turned herself in.
The case is now awaiting review by the Ellis County District Attorney’s Office.
"The community as a whole is just glad that there’s accountability," Williams said.
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The cheer association is funded by parents and local businesses. Many of them have now chipped in extra to make sure cheerleaders still have opportunities.
Boston did not return a call and message to her listed phone number on Monday. Since the allegations, the cheer association has implanted a nine-person board.