$25,000 For Youth Baseball Misused By Ohio Man: Attorney General

MASSILLON, OH — A local man is being accused of misusing $25,000 intended for the Massillon Little League and the Massillon Youth Baseball Association. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a lawsuit Luther E. Copeland Sr. this week, accusing him of misappropriating charitable funds.

“The defendant is accused of taking money from a youth baseball league and spending it at casinos,” DeWine said in a statement on Thursday. “The kids deserve better than that. We’re taking this action to hold this man accountable and to recover any charitable funds that were misused.”

The lawsuit filed by DeWine alleges that Copeland ran Massillon Little League until 2016, when the organization shut down. He then incorporated Massillon Youth Baseball Association in April 2017.

Investigators allegedly found that Copeland diverted funds from the charities' bank accounts into his own, personal, prepaid card accounts. He'd then use the money to make auto insurance payments or go to jewelry stores or casinos, the lawsuit said. Copeland had control over the organizations' bank accounts at the time.

The lawsuit also says Copeland didn't keep accurate financial records from 2014 onward. The investigation into Copeland was handled by the Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section.

DeWine wants restitution from Copeland and order barring him from incorporating, organizing or working in a fiduciary role with a nonprofit in Ohio. The lawsuit also aims to bring Massillon Youth Baseball Association into nonprofit compliance and to properly dissolve Massillon Little League.

A copy of the lawsuit filed by DeWine can be found here.

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