An Oxford man well-known and respected for his involvement in youth baseball pleaded guilty Dec. 16 in Oakland County Circuit Court to embezzling money from the kids and parents who trusted him.
Gregory James Williams, 46, will learn his fate when he’s sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Edward Sosnick at 1 p.m. Jan. 20.
‘He was great for baseball, he really was,? said Oxford resident Jeff Glass, who’s son played under Williams. ‘But he stole from a bunch of little kids that worked their butts off for him and believed in him. He screwed them over.?
Glass noted parents are planning to be there for Williams? sentencing and ‘we’re almost tempted to bring the kids in the courtroom.?
Back in July, Williams was arraigned on the felony charge of embezzlement over $1,000, but less than $20,000. The crime carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
‘It was a horrible indiscretion on my part,? Williams told this reporter. ‘I definitely have regrets for that. I’ve worked for baseball in that area for 13 years and never done anything. Obviously, this is something I regret horribly because it created so much controversy. I love those kids to death. I always have and nobody can ever question that.?
As part of the plea agreement, at his next court appearance, if the judge approves, Williams will be placed on a delayed sentence for 11 months in order to repay the $3,817 he stole from the 12-and-under Oxford Wildcats Federation baseball team.
If he makes restitution within the given time frame, the charge against him will be reduced to embezzlement between $200 and $1,000, which is a misdemeanor. If he fails to repay the money, the charge will remain a felony and he will be sentenced as such.
According to authorities, Williams, the team’s former owner and coach, used $3,817 funds from the organization’s nonprofit bank account for his own personal use.
The team was part of the North Oakland Baseball Federation.
According to the sheriff’s report, financial statements showed that Williams used monies from the baseball account to pay his cable, credit card, auto loan and mortgage bills.
‘I used $3,800 for my own personal use,? Williams said. ‘I offered to pay the money back.?
Williams admitted to the Oakland County Sheriff’s investigator that he took $3,817 from the federation team account, but he intended to repay it, according to the police report.
It should be noted the $3,817 is the official amount agreed upon by the federation team, the prosecutor and Williams.
Based on bank statements, sheriff’s investigators calculated the ‘unofficial? total of embezzled money to be about $10,000.
At the time, Williams told the investigator he used the baseball account to pay his expenses because he owed $100,000 in back taxes and the Internal Revenue Service had frozen his personal and business accounts until he paid the debt. The investigator contacted the IRS and verified this was true.
‘It had nothing to do with the IRS,? Williams said. ‘I worked it all out with the IRS. It has nothing to do with the IRS. I told that officer when I talked to him that I had worked it out with the IRS. As long as I continue to pay my taxes on time, I’ll never have another problem with the IRS.?
Williams said he used federation funds because he’s paid a lot out of his own pocket for baseball-related stuff that he was never reimbursed for.
‘Unfortunately, it just snowballed on me,? he said. ‘I’m self-employed. I had several contracts that were supposed to come in where people ended up declaring bankruptcy on me. Unfortunately, I got caught where I needed to use the money. I used it and I had every intention of putting the money back in when I received some contract checks. It’s not anything that I was trying to steal from anybody or take from anybody. It’s a regretable situation that I had to use it. It’s a regretable situation that I did use it?
His embezzlement of baseball funds was discovered early this year when the team found out it didn’t have any money to travel to Cooperstown, New York to play a national 12-and-under tournament this past summer.
According to Glass, Williams told the parents he’d sent a check to Cooperstown, but when they looked into it, there was no record of any monies being received or reservations made.
The players and parents had been raising money and planning to participate in this tournament for approximately six years.
‘It’s not about the money anymore. The money’s not going to benefit us,? Glass said. ‘It’s about the kids that lost the chance of a lifetime to play in Cooperstown. That’s all they talked about ? we’re going to Cooperstown, we’re going to Cooperstown.?
As someone who went to school with Williams and considered him a longtime friend, Glass is particularly upset about the deception. ‘Instead of him coming forth and saying he took the money, he lied to every one of us,? he said. ‘That’s all he talked about was Cooperstown. He flat out lied to them.?
Glass would like to see Williams admit what he did and publicly apologize by writing letters to the North Oakland Baseball Federations, The Oakland Press and The Oxford Leader. ‘I don’t want to see the guy go to jail. He’s got a wife. He’s got a family. That’s the last thing I want to see. There’s no reason to put him in jail. But there’s no reason for him to lie to us after what he did to these kids. No reason at all.?
Given he’s already stolen from one group of kids and parents, Glass can’t believe that Williams is still actively involved with the Oxford Recreational Baseball Association, an organization that’s completely separate from the federation teams.
‘I don’t see how that guy can be affiliated with ORBA,? he said. ‘He shouldn’t have anything to do with it. You wouldn’t put a pedophile teacher back in the classroom.?
Williams is president of ORBA, but according to Jim Young, the association’s registrar, he doesn’t handle any money.
‘We’re structured in such a way that he couldn’t do what you’re saying he pleaded guilty to with this other organization,? Young explained. ‘There’s only two people that are involved with monies (in ORBA) and that’s the treasurer and the registrar. The president has no ability to do that.?
All ORBA checks must be signed by both the treasurer and registrar, Young noted.
Money aside, Glass thinks Williams should not be connected with any youth baseball team, period. ‘It’s ridiculous that he even gets to be involved in baseball anymore after doing this to a bunch of kids that trusted him, that looked up to him, that he coached for years,? he noted. ‘It’s not right.?
Young offered a different perspective.
‘People make mistakes in life and obviously that was a huge mistake on his part, but he’s done so much good for the kids, he really has,? he said. ‘It’s a shame that people will have a negative view of him because of this one incident.?
‘I will continue to devote my time towards kids and baseball in general,? Williams noted. ‘That’s just not anything I’m going to stop . . . I love the sport of baseball, I love kids and I’m going to continue to work on their behalf.?