Police investigated after parents of students in the New Jersey High School Rodeo Association grew suspicious about where their money was going.
JACKSON - The president of a statewide youth rodeo club was charged with theft after allegedly stealing $32,000 from parents, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.
Eugene M. Nieratko, 42, of Jackson, was charged with third-degree theft by deception for the misappropriation of funds as president of the New Jersey High School Rodeo Association, which is part of a national club based in Colorado.
From September 2016 to August 2017, Nieratko took money from parents who thought they were paying for rodeo competition fees and insurance, said Al DellaFave, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
He kept the cash and cashed checks that he requested be made out in his name at a check-cashing facility in Lakehurst, DellaFave said. Police started investigating when the prosecutor's office was notified by several families that they had suspicions about whether their payments were going toward club services.
Records provided by families and the national association showed that Nieratko kept all the money he collected, which totaled about $32,000, DellaFave said.
Nieratko was released, but a court date hasn't yet been set.
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