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Apple Valley Man Accused Of $100K+ Theft From Athletic Asso.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An Apple Valley man has been charged with theft for allegedly stealing $113,532 from the Rosemount Area Athletic Association (RAAA) where he was employed.

Robert Steven Reischauer, 62, has been charged with five counts of felony theft.

According to the criminal complaint, RAAA conducted an audit while in between finance managers and found large sums of money missing.

The RAAA believed the money had been taken by the former finance manager, Reischauer, as he was the only one with access to the RAAA's accounts.

RAAA President Heidi Kraemer said she was in "disbelief" when she first heard about Reischauer's alleged theft.

"You just couldn't believe that someone who had been with the organization for that long and who has invested into the organization that much would do this," Kraemer said.

For 27 years, Reischauer was the group's finance director. No one noticed anything usual until just a year ago.

During an initial review of the account records, the RAAA found that Reischauer had issued a number of checks to himself that were never approved by the board from September 2011 through August 2013.

In his position, Reischauer was allowed to spend up to $500 without authorization, but all the checks found were greater than that amount.

According to the complaint, officials also found that Reischauer had created PayPal and Amazon accounts in his name and had used $11,400 of RAAA money to pay for the things he bought on those accounts.

The audit also found Reischauer issued himself extra pay checks totaling $11,500 over what he is normally paid.

After finishing the audit and reviewing Reischauer's personal computer and records, officials confirmed that he had been issuing extra pay checks to himself to help pay for the PayPal and Amazon accounts, among other things, and would then delete them from the account records he gave to the RAAA board.

The total amount was over $113,000.

If there is a silver lining, Kraemer says the missing money won't impact the kids.

"Our programs are operating all in the black, so we have not impacted our children which we're really proud to say," she said.

RAAA plans to build back funds by holding down administration costs, but rebuilding trust may take more time.

"When you find that person who is not in it for the right reasons, you kind of start to doubt everything, and it's just so disappointing," Kraemer said

If found guilty, Reischauer could face up to 10 years in prison, up to $20,000 in fines or both for all counts.

Reischauer's first court appearance has been set for 9 a.m. Aug. 11 in Hastings, Minn.

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