'Coach of the Year' Who Stole from Cheer Team Sentenced

FARMINGTON, MI – A former Farmington High School cheerleading coach — voted the school district’s “coach of the year” after her team made it to regional competition — was sentenced to probation last week for stealing nearly $10,000 cheerleaders earned to pay for new uniforms and a team trip.

Kandice Hernandez, 25, of Westland, was sentenced to five years’ probation, ordered to make restitution to the cheer squad of $12,622 and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service by Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Denise Langford Morris.

Our Earlier Report

• ‘Coach of the Year’ Allegedly Stole $10K from Cheer Squad

“You’re going to pay the restitution of $12,622.16,” Morris said, according to a report on WDIV-TV. “I want every penny.”

Cheerleaders who earned the money were on hand Thursday as a tearful Hernandez learned her fate. She previously had told investigators that she stole the money to pay her rent, buy airline tickets to Florida and pay for “all kinds of things.”

Hernandez apologized for the theft and said she intends to pay back the money she stole.

“I just wanted to say that what I did was wrong,” she said. “I know that it was wrong and I’m really sorry for everyone that was hurt. I intend to pay it back.”

The cheerleading program has implemented reforms to ensure nothing like this happens again. The cheer squad’s account no longer has a debit card, the school district handles its money and a board member must sign off on transfers.

Hernandez must also submit to random drug and alcohol testing, and is prohibited from going within 100 feet of Farmington High School and cheerleading activities.

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Farmington Public Schools began investigating Hernandez last summer after a fundraising company hired by the Farmington High Cheer Boosters notified the district’s athletic director that the booster group’s check had bounced.

Hernandez pleaded guilty to larceny by conversion of $1,000 or more on Dec. 2, five days before her trial was set to start. She could have gone to prison for five years.