California coach accused of stealing cheer team's money raised for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade trip
OAKDALE — A San Joaquin Valley cheerleading coach is facing criminal charges for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her own team.
The money was supposed to be for a trip to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Oakdale Inferno cheer coach Samantha Silva is facing grand theft and embezzlement charges for allegedly taking her own team's fundraising money, raised through social media posts asking people to support the girls with a donation by calling her.
"This is just a devastation to our whole community," Oakdale Mayor Cherilyn Bairos said.
Bairos donated for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade trip and says everyone she knows in Oakdale donated, too. The team shared on their Facebook page they had raised $42,000 as of last month.
"I just know that I got a call to say, 'Guess where we're going? Guess what we've been asked to do?' And now we need to fundraise so Oakdale pulled together, and fundraised."
Only this small town's big trip is now in trouble.
Escalon Police Chief Gustavo Flores confirmed officers arrested Silva at her home after parents reported fundraising checks bouncing.
Chief Flores says Silva admitted to investigators that she used the money to cover her own living expenses, including her rent and car payment.
Oak Valley Jewelers owners Kim and Lori Contreras are part of the Oakdale community trying to recoup some of the allegedly stolen money through a new fundraiser.
"We're still trying to help the Oakdale Inferno cheer get to New York. Those young girls worked so hard," Lori Contreras said.
"It's so important to them at an age in their lives that they need to somehow achieve their goal, to feel that accomplishment," Kim Contreras said.
"They were hand-chosen to go to this event," Mayor Bairos said.
This small-town cheer squad was selected to perform in the iconic parade and now their coach allegedly has turned the trip of a lifetime on Turkey Day into her own personal piggy bank.
