Former Hopatcong Youth Soccer Head Gets 5 Years Probation for Stealing $18K

The former president of a Hopatcong youth soccer club has been sentenced to five years probation for stealing nearly $20,000 from the league for personal use and to bankroll a trip to Disneyland.

Matthew Simon, 40, was ordered to pay all $18,000 back to the Hopatcong Hawks Soccer Club with monthly payments of $300 and he must serve 30 days in the Sussex County Sheriff’s Labor Assistance Program, according to NJ.com.

Simon and his girlfriend, Stacey Siegel, 37, were each indicted on theft charges in September 2011. The charges against Siegel, who was the club's treasurer, were dismissed when Simon testified under oath she had no knowledge of the thefts.

Simon purchased airline tickets, made hotel accommodations, rented a car, bought gas and made several ATM withdrawals using Hopatcong Hawks funds while on vacation with Siegel and their children in 2010.

Simon, whose probation can be cut to just two years if he makes restitution in that time, said at his sentencing on Friday that he was suffering financial difficulties at the time of the thefts, according to NJ.com.