ST. AMANT — A Baton Rouge woman is facing multiple charges after allegedly using her role as treasurer of a nonprofit youth sports organization to steal money over multiple months.
Ascension Parish Sheriff’s deputies investigated allegations that Heather Hinton, 43, who was treasurer of the St. Amant Jr. Gators sports group, had stolen money from the organization’s bank account. Officials secured an arrest warrant for Hinton, and on Tuesday, Aug. 19, she turned herself in after admitting to the allegations according to APSO.
Hinton is charged with theft over $25,000; illegal transmission of monetary funds; and bank fraud.
The St. Amant Jr. Gators is a nonprofit organization and part of Southern Louisiana Youth Football Association that gives local kids opportunities to play football and participate in cheerleading. The Gators were originally known as the Wildcats until the organization rebranded a few years ago.
Former board member and volunteer Jordan Venable spoke to UWK about the situation.
When the nonprofit needed to fill the role of treasurer, Venable said she recommended her friend Heather Hinton, who had financial experience and had been in a fundraiser role for the Gators in 2024. Their children played multiple sports together over several years.
Because she’d known Hinton for years and felt they were close friends, Venable said she felt comfortable recommending Hinton for the treasurer seat on the St. Amant Jr. Gators Board.
In early April 2025, Hinton was added to the St. Amant Jr. Gators’ bank account to perform her duties as treasurer. However, she allegedly did not purchase items like raffle tickets or equipment that she was supposed to. She was also reportedly making ATM transactions and sending Venmo payments to herself, family and friends using the Gators’ finances, all while saying the funds were coming from her own bank account.
“She went to the hair salon, and we paid about $3,600 her to get her hair extensions,” Jamie Carpenter, secretary of the organization told UWK.
Because Hinton was not providing regular updates on the organization’s funds intake or expenditures, even when directly requested, some of the board members became concerned and decided to check into the bank accounts in early August.
On Aug. 8, the St. Amant Jr. Gators’ president and Carpenter went to the bank and pulled the account statements and discovered the expenses did not align with what the organization should have been spending.
Altogether, Hinton owes the organization more than $41,000, Carpenter said.
After they discovered the accounts had been substantially drained, the other board members voted that night to remove Hinton from the treasurer seat and shut off her access to the account and card. In addition, the organization filed charges against Hinton with APSO the next day.
Board members also alerted parents the Monday after, explaining how much was taken from the organization’s funds and who allegedly had stolen the money.
In a statement to parents, the organization said, in part:
“Since then, we have taken immediate steps to secure all organizational funds. We have contacted law enforcement, filed criminal charges against her, and will pursue every avenue to recover the stolen funds.
Let us be clear — this was not just theft from an account. This was theft from our kids. Such actions are unacceptable, will not be tolerated, and will always be met with swift and decisive action.
We deeply regret that this occurred under our watch and sincerely apologize to every family and child impacted by this betrayal of trust. Our commitment moving forward is to lead with courage, integrity, and accountability, ensuring that our organization remains a safe and responsible steward of the resources entrusted to us.”
Carpenter said the support from parents and others in the local community has been encouraging, with some businesses reaching out to ask if they can help.
“We’ve made it very clear that Heather did not steal money just from an account. She stole money from those kids and the parents. And those parents get up and go to work every day to have an opportunity for their kids to participate in our organization,” Carpenter emphasized.
Next steps for the organization
To avoid this happening again, the board has implemented a new system of expectations for the new treasurer. In addition, there will be more than one person on the Gators’ bank account and it will be regularly monitored for suspicious activity.
Jamie Carpenter has also taken on the additional role as treasurer at this time, she said.
She and Venable stressed that things will end up being okay and that the children won’t see a different experience from the stolen funds.
“We still have a few home games. We still have the fundraiser. We still have ways to recuperate the money. Maybe it won’t be all of it, but it’ll still get us back to where the kids won’t have any issues with being able to have their season like it should have been,” Venable said.
The South Louisiana Youth Football Association has assured members that current raffles and fundraisers are not impacted by the fraud.
Carpenter added: “It’s just like I told our parents, the experience that the kids will have during this season will remain unchanged, regardless of the funds that are currently available or were available prior. That’s not going to change. We do plan to recoup our money however that may be or however long that may take, but from a financial standpoint, we’re going to be fine.”
The St. Amant Jr. Gators offers tackle football and cheerleading for kids ages 5-12. The organization provides equipment and uniforms to participants, regularly replacing old equipment and striving to provide new uniforms every year to the kids.
Around 200 kids participate with the St. Amant Jr. Gators each season.
Games include concessions, paid photographers and referees, and more.
Aside from registration fees, the organization holds fundraising opportunities such as the upcoming Outdoorsman Raffle, to help fund the opportunities for the kids.
Heather Hinton remains in Ascension Parish’s custody, awaiting a bond hearing.
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