The Westland Meteors youth football program is working to recover thousands of dollars allegedly embezzled by a former booster president who is now wanted on a bench warrant after missing court dates.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office says Randy Allen-Curtis Mason, 38, of Wayne, was charged with felony embezzlement of nearly $6,000 from the Westland Meteors football program.
Mason was placed in a diversion program but, according to court records, failed to appear at his last two court hearings. Following a missed hearing on August 31, a bench warrant was issued last week, and Mason is currently wanted in the outstanding case.
The non-profit football program supports more than 100 players and cheerleaders, with operating costs running into the thousands annually.
"Every 3 years football helmets have to be re-certified, shoulder pants have to be kept up, jerseys, game pants, practice pants, everything for these kids," Football Director David Johnston said.
Beyond registration fees, parent boosters fundraise for team banquets and activities. Johnston says suspicious charges on the booster's debit card first caught their attention in 2024.
"Red flags started going up. Charges for impound, charges for bar tabs up north, a $3,800 credit card payment to someone's personal credit card," Johnston said.
A Westland Police report shows nearly $6,000 in charges made on the booster's debit card. The charges were traced back to Mason, who was also a coach in the program.
Ryan Yoh, now president of the Westland Youth Athletic Association and a former Meteors president, says he was caught off guard by Mason's actions.
"We graduated high school together; he wasn't a bad guy. He fixed my water tank, didn't charge me because I had a brand new baby in the house; I didn't think he was that kind of person," Yoh said.
Yoh says Mason promised to repay the money but never did. After a police report was filed, Mason was charged in 2025.
"They ordered him to pay it back in a timely manner, which he still has not made any payments," Yoh said.
I was able to reach Mason by phone. He declined an interview but claimed he had already paid back most of the money and said he did not know about the missed court hearing until it was too late. He said he planned to turn himself in for the bench warrant the next morning.
In the meantime, the program has been fundraising to offset the loss.
"At this point, we've done a lot of fundraising to try to raise the money back. We've raised some of it back, not all of it of course," Yoh said.
Program leaders say they hope the case sends a message.
"Don't steal from kids, don't steal from programs, be honest, show integrity," Johnston said.
Parent and Football Secretary Amanda Providakes says she wants the community to trust the program again.
"I just want people to get faith in the meteors again, we do everything for these kids, we pour our blood and soul into these kids," Providakes said.
"Were trying to set an example that you don't steal from nonprofit youth organizations. And the Westland Youth Athletic Association, along with the Westland meteors ,are trying to make the buck stop here," Yoh said.
You can learn more about the Meteors by visiting their website https://www.westlandmeteors.org/.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
