Noxen man charged with stealing funds from football organization

Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.

WEST PITTSTON — A man from Noxen, Wyoming County, was arraigned Tuesday on allegations he stole nearly $2,700 from the Wilkes-Barre Warriors football organization.

Shawn Brown, 33, of Island Road, is accused of stealing $2,630 from the minor league football team in 2022 and 2023, according to court records.

The Warriors is an adult 8 vs. 8 football team that plays in the Great Eastern Football Association.

Court records say Brown is a player and partial owner of the Warriors.

According to the criminal complaint:

A team board meeting was held in January 2023, to discuss not having sufficient funds to purchase uniforms. During the meeting, Brown, whose wife is the team’s treasurer, collected fees from players via cash-app or cash and not turning over the collected fees to his wife.

Players who signed up to play confirmed they paid the fee.

When Brown was confronted about missing funds, he admitted to taking the money for personal use, the complaint says.

Brown was given an opportunity by the board to pay the funds he allegedly swindled but failed to make restitution, according to the complaint.

Police in the complaint says Brown collected $3,145 and only turned over $905 to the team.

A board member reported the alleged theft of funds to police in June.

Brown was arraigned by District Judge Joseph J. Carmody of West Pittston on three felony counts of theft. He was released on $7,500 unsecured bail.