Coralville woman charged with stealing nearly $30K from youth softball association

A Coralville woman has been charged with stealing nearly $30,000 from a youth softball association while she worked as the organization’s treasurer.

Laura Margaret Mangrich, 41, is charged with first-degree fraudulent practice, first-degree theft and unauthorized use of credit card.

Mangrich was the treasurer for the Iowa City Girls Softball Association between January 2020 and January 2024. Between May 19, 2020 and Oct. 30, 2023, she stole $29,569.34 from the association, according to a criminal complaint.

She withdrew $25,410.25 from the association’s bank account in cash, made $1,422.05 worth of unauthorized purchases on the association’s debit card and wrote $2,737.04 in unauthorized checks, according to the criminal complaint. She also falsified an end-of-year report in 2022 to hide her thefts, it states.

According to 2020 public tax forms filed by the nonprofit, the association’s net assets at the end of the year were $54,194. Mangrich’s position and other board member positions were unpaid.

Mangrich was arrested Monday and released from jail for pretrial supervision after having her first appearance in court.

According to a statement from the softball association, Mangrich “was able to secure sole access to the organization’s bank account, remove key safeguards that were in place to track our income and expenditures, and allegedly embezzle almost $30,000. That someone would target a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to empower young women and girls was both shocking and disappointing.”

The board of directors of the organization became aware of the misuse of funds in January, and Mangrich was immediately removed from the board of directors, and her access to the association’s finances was suspended.

“We have since undertaken steps to ensure that nothing like this can happen again,” the statement reads.

“We are grateful to the Iowa City Police for their quick and thorough investigation. We also greatly appreciate the sponsors and Iowa City community who help support ICGS. Thanks to them, we remain financially sound and are looking forward to providing a quality softball program to the kids in this community in 2024 and beyond.”

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com