Article Courtesy of The Ocala Star Banner

By Austin L. Miller  

Published July 21, 2015

Vicki Ann Yancey, 56, was arrested at her Ocala home by Marion County Sheriff's Office Detective Brandon Spillman and charged with larceny.

Yancey is the wife of Belleview High School football coach Phillip Yancey.

  

Officials with the Deer Path Homeowners Association said that, according to their audit, Vicki Yancey took a total of $28,772.85 from the HOA account. The HOA president told Spillman she was the association's treasurer from 2002 until August 2014. He said she was not authorized to take money without the knowledge or consent of the board of directors and was the only person who had access to the account, Spillman's report states.   According to the report, a deputy went to the Deer Path subdivision at 6853 SE 11th Place on Jan. 2 in reference to a report about the theft, which was discovered after an audit on the association's finances was done.   The HOA president told Spillman that in January 2014 they decided to do a periodic audit of finances and asked Yancey to provide documentation to the board. She did not attend that meeting, nor other meetings arranged by board members. She resigned in August, the report states.   After her resignation, a special audit committee discovered that Yancey had made numerous ATM withdrawals, purchases at restaurants and other businesses, and had written checks to family members using money from the HOA account, the report states.

Vicki Yancey Deputies took a woman accused of stealing thousands of dollars from a homeowners association into custody Friday.

 
It also was discovered that in August 2011 the HOA account was depleted and the bank had closed the account. Yancey opened a new account a week later, Spillman noted in his report.
 
Examining bank statements from July 2010 to August 2014, Spillman noted that Yancey made purchases at department stores and restaurants, paid her cellphone bill, bought items from online stores, paid her light bill, removed money from an ATM machine and wrote checks to family members, all with HOA funds.

Before Yancey resigned, she deposited three checks into the HOA account. One for $1,000 in June, one for $3,000 in July and a third in August, for $13,000, from her husband's bank account, the report states.

Spillman talked with Phillip Yancey about the large sum and he said he gave the money to his wife because she told him she needed it to give to her sister, who had cancer.

When Spillman attempted to interview Vicki Yancey, she asked for her attorney. She was booked at the Marion County Jail at 10:40 a.m. Friday and released from the jail shortly before 3 p.m. on $10,000 bond. She does not have a criminal history, according to court documents.

Vicki and Phillip Yancey both declined requests for comment.