PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The former treasurer for the South Park BMX Track Association is accused of taking the organization’s funds and using them for her own benefit.
Jennifer Meares, 45, of Pittsburgh, is charged with theft by unlawful taking, access device fraud, receiving stolen property and misapplication of entrusted funds.
BTA is a non-profit sports organization that operates a race track in Bethel Park.
An Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office detective claims that Meares, misused her position with BTA to divert nearly $124,000 from the association’s bank account for her own benefit and created false statements to conceal the thefts.
Online court documents show the detective received a complaint in January from BTA board members regarding alleged theft from the organization by the former elected treasurer.
When interviewed on Jan. 28, current BTA President Nicholas Dawson said the association’s board of directors had periodic meetings with Meares, who would provide bank statements showing a large account balance.
BTA has one bank account for all income and expenses, records state. Riders must pay practice and race fees, which are deposited into BTA‘s account.
Dawson said he learned in January that the account had a far lower balance than anticipated.
Additionally, Dawson and Treasurer Brent Sandrock said that, upon taking over leadership, they located a $36,575.65, past-due contractor‘s bill for rebuilding the track’s starting line.
Meares claimed to have purchased a check for the full amount and put it in the mail, the two said. However, a review of bank records allegedly revealed that a withdrawal for the check was never made, and a later check was returned for insufficient funds.
A search warrant served on BTA‘s bank account allegedly revealed Meares wrote herself 28 checks totaling $33,778.90 from 2018 through 2024.
The memo portion for the checks noted various reasons, mostly “reimbursement,” the detective claimed, though Sandrock and Dawson said there would be no occasion when Meares would need to use her own money and be reimbursed.
Further review of records allegedly showed multiple purchases at Amazon, payments to a credit card and debit purchases made at businesses such as gas stations, hotels, auto parts stores, convenience stores, restaurants and bars, Chewy.com and DoorDash.
Sandrock and Dawson said BTA has no credit cards, and there would be no reason to use the association’s debit card for any of the reported transactions.
A search warrant on Amazon allegedly revealed Meares made purchases using BTA‘s debit card that were not for the association’s benefit, including for women’s jewelry, clothing and footwear. The detective claimed these items were shipped to Meares’ home address.
Another search warrant allegedly found that a credit card account that received payments from BTA‘s account was owned by Meares, and there were no purchases on the account that would benefit the association.
BTA bank records showed a total of $123,912.89 in expenditures not made for the association‘s benefit, court records allege, including $33,778.90 in checks, $24,652.52 in payments and $65,481.47 in debit purchases.
Court records show Meares is not in custody. There is a warrant out for her arrest.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
