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PROVO, Utah (AP) -- Fired Spanish Fork High School girls soccer coach Jeremy King and his wife have been ordered to stand trial on charges that they took money from the team's booster account and used it for personal expenses.
King, 26, faces four counts of forgery and one count of theft. His wife, Brianne, 27, faces two counts of forgery and one count of theft.
Following a preliminary hearing Monday, 4th District Judge Samuel McVey ordered them bound over for trial. Arraignment was set for Aug. 21.
Defense attorney Jere Reneer argued that it was "certainly not criminal conduct. Maybe poor judgment."
Jeremy King set up a checking account for money collected from fundraising under the name of his assistant soccer coach and longtime friend Janalee Vidolin, prosecutor Randy Kennard said.
The money was for the players and the things they needed for soccer that the school couldn't afford, said Doug Snell, athletics director for the high school.
Jeremy King did all the fundraising, Reneer said.
Vidolin said several checks bounced, and when she went to the bank to get copies of the checks, she found that her name had been signed on checks she had not authorized.
"I trusted him because we had been friends for so long," Vidolin said, adding she tried to resolve the problem with Jeremy King but couldn't because he would not repay all of the money taken from the account.
Reneer contended that Jeremy King had full discretion on how the money was used.
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Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldextra.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
