USA Swimming places CFO on leave after learning of arrest for embezzlement while working at CU

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — USA Swimming placed its chief financial officer, Cory Hilliard, on leave Monday after learning of his arrest on charges of theft and embezzlement at his previous job as an administrator in the University of Colorado athletic department.

The district attorney’s office in Boulder said Hilliard is accused of misappropriating funds from the school’s Nike Elite program for personal use. The DA said the school lost $9,510 due to Hilliard’s actions.

Hilliard, 54, was hired last December as CFO of USA Swimming, which oversees the sport from the grassroots to the Olympic level in the U.S. The organization said it learned of his arrest Monday and “immediately placed Cory on leave and terminated all access to any company data and financial controls.”

It said it was conducting its own investigation.

As the administrator for Colorado’s Nike Elite program, Hilliard was “responsible for managing employee product benefit allocations,” the DA’s office said.

Hilliard did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press sent to his USA Swimming email.

He was one of the first big hires made by CEO Kevin Ring after Ring took over last September.

“Cory brings extraordinary financial discipline, operational expertise, and a strong track record of transparent leadership,” Ring said at the time.

Ring’s own hiring came six months after Delaware athletic director Chrissi Rawak quit less than 10 days after getting the CEO role when USA Swimming learned she was the subject of a complaint at the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports