Former Youth Football Leader Sent to Jail

George Gutierrez, former head of a Rancho Santa Margarita youth football league, was ordered Tuesday to repay more than $86,000 he stole from the league’s coffers and sentenced to seven months in jail.

Gutierrez, 52, of Rancho Santa Margarita, pleaded guilty to writing at least 79 checks from the Santa Margarita-Trabuco Canyon Pop Warner league to himself and to “cash” over the last few years. He founded and was former president of the league.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department began investigating Gutierrez in March after his wife and other league officials told authorities they suspected he was living off money meant to buy equipment.

Gutierrez, who was essentially running the league without oversight, used the money to pay for food, rent and personal bills, authorities said.

Before the sentencing, Brooks Kern, a spokesman for the league, told the court that ordering Gutierrez to repay the money was the most important aspect of the judgment.

“We want full restitution,” Kern said.

Deputy Public Defender MacDonald Becket Jr. asked the judge to suspend a jail sentence so Gutierrez can begin working and repay the money as soon as possible. He said Gutierrez is a prime candidate for an electronic ankle monitoring device.

But Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino sentenced Gutierrez to five years of probation and seven months in jail, minus the 76 days he has served while awaiting trial. He said the request for electronically monitored home confinement would be forwarded to the Probation Department.

Makino also ordered Gutierrez to repay $86,199.93 to the league.

Scott McKnight, a member for the league’s board and a Newport Beach police investigator who assisted with the probe, said the punishment was fitting.

“I think it’s important for Mr. Gutierrez to serve time, to give him a taste of what that life is like so, hopefully, he can make restitution and won’t end up back in prison,” said McKnight.