Report: Rancho Mirage Man Linked To Coach Kickbacks

Twenty-nine school staff members in Orange County and a handful in Riverside County received kickbacks from a sports apparel company that was used to purchase uniforms and other items as part of the athletics program, according to a report from PBS SoCal.

The report claims Lapes Athletic Team Sales, based in Laguna Hills, overcharged the school districts to create a fund to pay for trips and gifts for school coaches and other personnel.

The owner, Bill Lapes, of Rancho Mirage, refused to comment on the report.

The allegations surfaced after the company’s new owners, Geoff and Teresa Sando, said the found discrepancies in the company’s billing records.

They claim from 1992-2008, coaches at about 30 high schools and community colleges may have received the kickbacks.

List: Lapes Athletic Team “Slush” Payments

“We believe there could have been criminal misconduct,” said Capistrano Superintendent Joe Farley to the Orange County Register. “The findings are significant enough that it merits being turned over to the sheriff’s department.”

The district expected to provide a full report to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department by the end of the summer.

Five Riverside County high schools were on the list of schools where kickbacks may have been paid. None are in the Coachella Valley.