Weston Soccer Club Exec Sentenced To 21 Months In Prison: Feds

WESTON, CT — A Weston man was sentenced in Bridgeport Wednesday for a fraud offense stemming from an $890,000 embezzlement scheme involving a local soccer club, federal officials announced.

Charles M. Ameer, 65, was sentenced to 21 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, during which time he must perform 150 hours of community service. He has also been ordered to make full restitution.

Ameer served as the treasurer of the Weston Soccer Club from 2014 until February 2018, according to state law enforcement officials. He was also the chief financial officer at Indeco North America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Indeco Ind. S.P.A, headquartered in Milford, from 2017 through 2022.

Beginning in 2016, Ameer misappropriated at least $38,500 from the WSC and used the funds for personal expenses, according to the charges.

In October 2017, Ameer created a $40,000 check, which was drafted on Indeco’s bank account and made payable to the order of "WSC," and used the check to reimburse the WSC for the funds he had taken, officials said in a news release. Ameer subsequently opened a line of credit at a bank in WSC's name, without WSC’s authorization or knowledge, and transferred funds into the WSC account that he had stolen from to further conceal his theft, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Between October 2018 and July 2022, Ameer wrote 14 more checks, in the total amount of $850,000, which were drafted on Indeco’s bank account and made payable to him, officials said in a news release. He deposited the checks into his personal bank account and used the funds for his own benefit, the D.A. said.

Ameer was arrested on August 31, 2023, and pleaded guilty to wire fraud on March 28, 2024. He is released on a $500,000 bond, and required to report to prison on Oct. 9.