AG Shapiro Charges Former West Catholic High School Football Coach with Theft

July 19, 2019 | Topic: Criminal

Brian Fluck Charged for Stealing more than $65,000 from Philadelphia City All-Star Football Game

HARRISBURG— Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced charges against the former football coach of West Catholic High School for allegedly stealing more than $65,000 from the Philadelphia City All-Star Football Game. Brian Fluck, 49, of Philadelphia, was charged with Dealing in Proceeds of Unlawful Activities, Theft by Unlawful Taking, Theft by Receiving Stolen Property, and Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Funds Received.

“The defendant was entrusted to oversee a football game, but he stands charged with abusing this authority to steal from kids and enrich himself,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “Families and spectators gave their hard-earned money to the game and expected the funds to be handled responsibly, not diverted into the pockets of the person who was supposed to be managing the funds. My Office will continue to investigate and prosecute instances of public corruption wherever we find them.”

Today’s charges are the result of a four month investigation conducted by the Office of Attorney General’s Public Corruption Section with assistance from the Office of Inspector General for the Philadelphia School District. Fluck worked as the head football coach for West Catholic High School from 2000-2018 and served as the President and Treasurer of the All-Star game from 2005-2018. The investigation found that during this time, the defendant wrote checks to himself from the All-Star Game account and then deposited them into his personal bank account. Between September 2007 and September 2018, the defendant wrote 36 checks to himself, totaling $63,800. He also allegedly deposited more than $2000 in cash that he collected from the game into his personal bank account.

The investigation also found that Fluck would sometimes put money from his personal account back into the All-Star Game account, often at the end of the year when the account contained insufficient funds to pay outstanding bills and invoices. These deposits totaled $22,355 in checks and money orders. The defendant did not disclose these transactions. When he was confronted by other board members about unpaid invoices in January 2019, the defendant allegedly wrote a check for $14,000 to the account.

The defendant turned himself in to Philadelphia Police today. Senior Deputy Attorney General Kirk Handrich is prosecuting the case.

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