Woman sentenced for stealing from soccer club, ordered to repay $17,000

An Oak Harbor woman who stole from a soccer club was sentenced to jail and ordered to pay more than $17,000 in restitution, according to court documents.

Virginia Ricci pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court June 4 to two counts of theft in the first degree.

The judge followed the terms of the plea bargain and sentenced Ricci to two months in jail and ordered her to pay restitution, plus about $1,200 in fines and fees.

Ricci was the treasurer and tournament director for the North Whidbey Soccer Club when she made fraudulent charges on the club accounts to purchase items from Amazon, Costco, beauty retailers and other businesses and individuals.

Ricci also wrote checks to reimburse herself for equipment she purchased but made the checks out for larger amounts than she spent, court documents state.

Board members from the club, a nonprofit group that organizes soccer programs for children in the community, tried to work with Ricci to repay the missing funds but ended up reporting the theft to police last year.