A California football mom has been arrested by the FBI after allegedly embezzling over $400,000 from a high school booster club to pay her mortgage.
Julie Hanway Molina, 56, was taken into custody Thursday morning at her home in Aliso Viejo, California, after armed agents used a bullhorn to demand she surrender.
Molina, who served as treasurer for the nonprofit booster club supporting the Aliso Niguel High School football team, has been charged with four counts of wire fraud.
According to a federal indictment returned by a grand jury on September 2, Molina defrauded the organization out of $411,761 between 2023 and November 2025.
Prosecutors allege that in June 2023 alone, Molina wired approximately $131,523 from the nonprofit’s Laguna Hills bank account to cover delinquent mortgage payments on her personal residence.
The funds were routed through Federal Reserve facilities in New Jersey and Texas before landing in a Santa Ana account, according to USA Today.
California football mom Julie Hanway Molina has been arrested by the FBI after allegedly embezzling over $400,000 from a high school booster club to pay her mortgage
Molina, 56, was taken into custody Thursday morning at her home in Aliso Viejo
The FBI released an image of Molina being arrested by authorities in a Facebook post
Investigators claim she diverted the remaining hundreds of thousands of dollars toward paying off personal credit card balances and routine living expenses.
Prosecutors allege that Molina sent falsified treasurer reports to fellow board members that ‘failed to disclose the misappropriation of funds’.
The booster club operates as a volunteer nonprofit specifically formed to fund equipment, travel, and operations for the Orange County school’s football program.
Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli condemned the alleged theft, confirming that federal prosecutors will push for significant prison time.
‘We’re going after all fraud, big or small. This treasurer managed community funds for student athletes and breached that trust,’ Essayli said in a statement.
He added: ‘This defendant was entrusted by the community with safeguarding money raised for young adults. She violated that trust and is now a charged felon.
‘Our prosecutors are committed to holding her fully accountable, including seeking a federal prison sentence.’
Molina is scheduled to make her initial court appearance at the US District Court in Santa Ana.
If convicted on all four counts of wire fraud, the 56-year-old faces a statutory maximum penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison for each charge.
