A California woman who served as treasurer of a high school football booster club has been arrested by the FBI and charged with wire fraud after allegedly embezzling more than $400,000 from the organization to pay her mortgage.
Julie Hanway Molina, 56, was taken into custody Thursday morning at her home in Aliso Viejo, California, after armed agents used a bullhorn to demand she surrender.
Molina served as treasurer for the nonprofit booster club that supports the Aliso Niguel High School football team. She has been charged with four counts of wire fraud.
According to a federal indictment returned by a grand jury on September 2, Molina defrauded the organization of $411,761 between 2023 and November 2025.
How the money was allegedly moved
Prosecutors allege that in June 2023 alone, Molina wired approximately $131,523 from the nonprofit's Laguna Hills bank account to cover delinquent mortgage payments on her personal residence.
The funds were routed through Federal Reserve facilities in New Jersey and Texas before landing in a Santa Ana account, according to USA Today.
Investigators claim she diverted the remaining hundreds of thousands of dollars toward paying off personal credit card balances and routine living expenses. Prosecutors allege that Molina sent falsified treasurer reports to fellow board members that failed to disclose the misappropriation of funds.
The booster club operates as a volunteer nonprofit formed specifically to fund equipment, travel and operations for the Orange County school's football program.
Prosecutors vow to seek prison time
Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli condemned the alleged theft and confirmed that federal prosecutors will push for significant prison time.
"We're going after all fraud, big or small. This treasurer managed community funds for student athletes and breached that trust," Essayli said in a statement.
He added: "This defendant was entrusted by the community with safeguarding money raised for young adults. She violated that trust and is now a charged felon. Our prosecutors are committed to holding her fully accountable, including seeking a federal prison sentence."
What happens next
Molina is scheduled to make her initial court appearance at the US District Court in Santa Ana.
If convicted on all four counts of wire fraud, the 56-year-old faces a statutory maximum penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison for each charge.
