MHS baseball coach Daigle resigns after pleading guilty to embezzlement at Iberia Parish non-profit

 

    Timothy Daigle, who became Marksville High School's head baseball coach this year, has resigned after being sentenced in U.S. District Court to 90 days in prison for embezzling approximately $90,000 from an Iberia Parish non-profit organization.
   U.S. District Judge Richard Haik also sentenced Daigle, 33, to 600 hours of community service. 
   Daigle pled guilty in September to a federal fraud charge for his part in a scheme to pocket federally supported loans that the Southern Mutual Help Association was overseeing to help low-income families repair their homes.  He was sentenced on Jan. 12.
   “He turned in his resignation the next day,” Avoyelles School Superintendent Blaine Dauzat said. Dauzat said he could not make any other comment.
  Marksville Athletic Director J.T. Dunbar said MHS is accepting applications and hopes to have a new coach in place soon.
  Daigle had asked Haik for probation. He blamed his addiction to the prescription stimulant Vyvanse and the lure of the casino for his poor decisions. Vyvanse is used to treat ADHD -- hyperactivity -- and binge-eating disorders.
  “Somewhere along the line, with all the Vyvanse and the gambling, I got myself into a bind,” Daigle said. “I wish I could take it back, but I can’t.”
  Federal prosecutors said Daigle, who worked as a loan officer for SMHA, falsified paperwork to set up four fraudulent home repair loans stretching from 2013 to 2014. He arranged to have the money paid to a construction company owned by a friend, who then gave the money back to Daigle.
  “It was a fairly intricate scheme in the way he put it together,” Assistant U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph said.
  Daigle’s attorney, Brett Grayson, argued that a prison term would make it difficult for Daigle to keep his current job and pay the money back. 
  Daigle told Haik that he now has a handle on his substance abuse and gambling problems.
  “I just feel like I could do more good on the outside than being in jail,” he said.
  SMHA President/CEO Lorna Bourg told the judge she wants the money repaid quickly, but also believes Daigle should spend some time behind bars to realize the impact of his actions.
  “I think there is something larger than the money here,” she said. “I think he needs some physical skin in the game.”
  Haik allowed Daigle to wait until June 1 to report to federal prison, which would have given him time to finish the current school year had he not opted to resign instead.