Oakdale Citizen of the Year jailed on suspicion of embezzlement

Oakdale’s 2015 Citizen of the Year was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of embezzling more than $18,000 from the city’s youth soccer league.

Jo Harris, 45, is accused of using player fees and other Oakdale Youth Soccer League funds to make car payments, pay utility bills and make more than $9,600 in cash withdrawals, according to Sgt. Joe Johnson.

Harris previously worked as the league’s president and treasurer, but Johnson said she was a coach in March 2014 when she opened an account in the name of OYSL using her home address.

Since then, Harris embezzled $18,141.69 from the league, Johnson said.

In January, Harris was named Citizen of the Year by the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce, which stated she was “active in youth, health and other causes.”

Oakdale police began investigating Harris last month after the California Youth Soccer Association Cal North, which oversees OYSL, completed an audit of the league and found “some questionable transactions,” Johnson said.

Harris was arrested at her home in the Bridle Ride development about 10:30 a.m. Detectives searched her home and seized property and documents that belong to the league.

“Her rationale was that she paid for tournament fees out of her own pocket and that (the money from the account) was reimbursement for those tournament fees,” Johnson said.

Her husband, also a coach, was on the account as well, but Harris told investigators he knew nothing about it. Some of the money that went into the account came from a donation made by her husband’s employer, The Ball Corp., according to Johnson.

Harris was booked into the Stanislaus County jail on suspicion of embezzlement and grand theft. She is being held on $10,000 bail.

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Oakdale Citizen of the Year jailed on suspicion of embezzlement."