Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY
As we have seen over the past few years, with the influx of money being paid to not only college athletes, but now high school players, the world of “amateur” sports has been turned on its head. Now we have a highly decorated football coach, Jason Negro of Bellflower St. John Bosco High School in California, is being sued for allegedly embezzling money and paying some of his top players’ tuition with it.
The Los Angeles Times reports that three former employees of Bellflower St. John Bosco High are claiming in a new lawsuit that Jason Negro embezzled money from the private Catholic school for several years. They also claim that Negro had assistant coaches, including his brother, special teams coach Jake Negro, pay the tuition for top players in cash, claiming the money came from “anonymous donors.”
The filing in Los Angeles County Superior Court also alleges that Negro conducted all financial transactions associated with his powerhouse program in cash that he keeps in a safe in his office, with no accounting or accountability by the school.
California Interscholastic Federation bylaws state that “anybody tied to the school cannot give out money based on athletic ability,” and a spokesman for the Southern Section said that providing money to players for tuition is a “potential violation.”
The lawsuit also claims that Jason Negro only accepted cash as payment for the school’s youth camps, that gear given to the school by Nike was sold for cash, and that the proceeds from parking, game programs and raffles at home games were paid in cash to Negro. That money, in addition to being used to pay players’ tuition, was also allegedly used for coaches to take periodic “retreats” to the Palm Springs area.
“There, the football staff engaged in profligate spending for hotels, meals, and large amounts of alcohol,” the lawsuit claims. “Assistant coaches raved that they were able to go drinking on ‘Bosco’s dime.'”
The lawsuit also claims that the cash that was paid to Negro and his assistant coaches weren’t reported as income to the Internal Revenue Service, which means they “engaged in embezzlement and fraud.”
The three former employees, Brian Wickstrom, Melanie Marcaurel and Derek Barraza, claim they were improperly fired last year. Wickstrom was the school’s president and chief executive, Macaurel was the chief financial officer, and Barraza was vice president of technology.
According to the lawsuit, their dismissals were “motivated by the desire to protect the football program and its head coach Jason Negro from scrutiny or oversight of illegal conduct.” They claim their firings were retaliation for reporting the violations.
St. John Bosco High School was the number one ranked high school football team in the country in 2013 and again in 2022. Jason Negro also won a national coach of the year award in 2022.
“St. John Bosco High School is aware of claims made against the Salesian Society and myself by former employees of St. John Bosco,” Negro said in a statement. “An independent investigation has already been conducted and all the facts will come to light in court. The claim has been in the hands of our legal team and our school will defer all questions to them.”