This is an incredibly sad story coming out of the Baltimore area on Saturday morning.
According to The Baltimore Banner, the treasurer for a middle school's parent teacher student association has admitted to stealing $29,000 from a school fundraiser in which students sold chocolate bars to raise money and spent at least part of it on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Per The Baltimore Banner:
James Michael Harris, 46, was treasurer for the parent teacher student association affiliated with Stemmers Run Middle School in Essex when he drained the nonprofit’s bank account and spent money raised by the students through a chocolate bar sale. Baltimore County prosecutors said theft totaled $29,000 and occurred between April 2022 and March 2023.
Authorities charged Harris for having sticky fingers after a parent and a school administrator grew suspicious and confronted him. He admitted to moving the money between PayPal accounts before spending it on himself and online gambling sites such as DraftKings and FanDuel, said prosecutor Adam Lippe.
When this story first started making the rounds on Twitter on Saturday, there were plenty of Michael Jordan memes and jokes about the situation. But there's nothing funny about this story. I encourage you to read the full report to get the details on just how much this has affected the students and the association, which is not officially affiliated with the school.
The story does not specify if Harris used the money on sports betting, on DFS or on a combination of the two on DraftKings and FanDuel, nor does it say how much of the $29,000 was spent on the two platforms. In either case, the fact that a person could steal money — any money, let alone such a large sum — from a children's school fundraiser and use it on gaming seems like a sign of a serious gambling problem.
According to the report, Harris is attempting to pay the money back, but the damage has largely been done.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please take a look at our Responsible Gambling Resources & Tools For Sports Bettors or any of the other certified programs meant to help. There are numerous online, anonymous resources available if you or they are not ready to talk directly to someone and share their situation over the phone or in-person.
According to the National Center for Responsible Gaming, about 1% of the United States population is said to have a severe gambling problem. Of those, 6-9% of young people and young adults are affected. In all, it is estimated that roughly 10 million people struggle with some form of gambling issue throughout the country.
