Community Corner

9-Month Jail Term for Former Healdsburg Youth Soccer League President

Kyle Joseph Hoffman gave League $12,200 in restitution Wednesday, falling short of the $30,000 minimum restitution payment prosecutors had required to consider a no-jail sentence.

A Sonoma County judge sentenced former President Kyle Joseph Hoffman Wednesday to nine months in Sonoma County Jail for embezzling about $58,000 from league coffers in order to support his upscale lifestyle.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Ken Gnoss said Hoffmanto make at least an initial $30,000 -- or half the amount taken -- in restitution payment at sentencing for the court to  

Hoffman, 38, gave League President Mitzi Giron a cashier's check for $12,200 on Wednesday -- or about a quarter of the amount of loss. Gnoss said that fell short of the instructions he gave Hoffman when

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Before the sentencing, Hoffman, his voice breaking as he spoke, tried to make his case for a waiver on jail time to Gnoss. He told Gnoss he was sorry and "remorseful," he said.

"I never blamed anyone -- I make no excuses for my actions," Hoffman said. He said he took the money because he could not face the fact that he needed to downgrade his lifestyle when the economy went south.

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"I wasn't able to admit that I failed to my family," said Hoffman, who has a wife and two children. "I didn't want to admit that I couldn't afford to take my family out to eat."

Hoffman told the judge he "betrayed the community that trusted me, and damaged the program I cared about," he said.

He promised to "work two jobs to make the league whole for the entire community, and to restore people's faith in me," Hoffman said. "I want people to believe in me, that I can do the right thing."

His attorney, George Arack, told Gnoss that Hoffman would commit to pay the rest of the restitution back in at least $400 per month payments. Gnoss was not swayed -- and pointed out that the $12,200 was not submitted until the day of sentencing.

"I can't overlook that every parent who has ever had a child participate in any youth sports has had to pay hard-earned money for dues and volunteer time so that kids can play sports,"  Gnoss said. "I don't feel Mr. Hoffman lived up to his part of the bargain.'

Sonoma County Chief Deputy District Attorney Bill Brockley, who prosecuted the case, told the judge that he "wanted to put a face" on Hoffman's actions.

"When you say , it seems like a faceless act," Brockley told Gnoss. "The real victims are every child who ever played youth soccer, and every parent who ever scraped together to save money so his kids could learn the value of teamwork.

"What he did was the antithesis of what we teach our children," Brockley said.

Brockley said a investigation found that Hoffman used the $58,000 -- withdrawn in a reported 71 checks written to himself between June 2008 and June 2010 -- to pay for meals out almost every day in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa restaurants, movies with his family at Airport Cinemas in Santa Rosa and even a $113 bar tab at pub in Healdsburg.

"Hoffman put himself first," Brockley added. "His selfishness is deplorable, that he would take money away from children."

Brockley said Hoffman blamed his actions on the economic downtown, but that was not an excuse.

"He wanted to stay in his standard of living," Brockley said. "I know people who work two jobs just so they can let their kids play soccer -- Hoffman almost eliminated that opportunity for kids in Healdsburg."

He said Hoffman needed to make "substantial" restitution because "Healdsburg Youth Soccer League was teetering on the brink of going under," he said.

"I was very specific and clear that it needs to be at least half," Brockley told Gnoss. "And $12,200 is not enough."

Giron, who was joined at the sentencing by former League board members Michelle Payne and Lisa Wittke Schaffner, said the $12,200 will help the League buy uniforms for the current season, which started Aug. 1 and runs through Nov. 1.

The league serves 300 boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 18 in Healdsburg, Geyserville and Alexander Valley.

"It's a good start," Giron said.

She said she was grateful for a groundswell of community support from other sports teams, area businesses, hotels, groups and families -- as well as the fall registration fees -- that has allowed the League to continue, despite the loss of $58,000 that was needed for referees, equipment, uniforms, insurance and other costs.

"We had coaches volunteer their time," Giron said. A San Jose soccer team donated scrimmage practice jerseys, she added. A

She said that jail time was appropriate.

"You [Hoffman] stole money from children who had every right in the world to be able to play soccer," Giron said. "You left them with nothing -- you can't do that and get away with it."

Schaffner agreed.

"I think the judge did the right thing because what he [Hoffman] did was not OK," said Schaffner, a former HYSL president. "We do feel for his family, because they are good people."

Schaffner said the League was "wounded -- it forces us to take a look at all our board members," she said. "This is very hard in a small town."

Payne said nothing like this has happened in recent memory in youth sports in Healdsburg, where everyone knows parents and their kids from an early age.

"The community coming together has been a savior," she said.

Even so, she said it was "horrible" to see Hoffman being led away in handcuffs by a sheriff's deputy.

"He is a good person who made a huge mistake," she said.

Gnoss also ordered Hoffman to serve three years supervised probation, during which time he is not allowed to have weapons and must submit to counseling, drug tests and searches. Hoffman is convicted of three felony grand theft theft counts -- one for each year between 2008 and 2010 when the thefts occurred.


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