Gwinnett County School Police on Thursday laid out how they say a longtime Parkview High School track coach drained about $65,000 from his own booster club since 2018.
Matthew Henson, 52, turned himself in Wednesday on a felony theft by taking charge. He was released on a $11,000 bond, according to jail records.
Investigators said Henson controlled the booster club’s debit card and checkbook. They said he used both on travel, vacations and subscription services dating back to January 2018.
Interim Police Chief Mary Williford said the total climbed with each search warrant detectives pulled.
“One thing would lead to another. It kept compounding, so it continuously just grew,” Williford said.
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The money belonged to the Parkview Track and Field Booster Club, a nonprofit the school district does not run. Williford said the first tips reached her department last October from people who realized the money was not going where they had been told.
Investigators said Henson used the club’s debit card and checkbook for travel, vacations and subscription services. None of it has been returned.
Lt. Gene Hamilton said everyone detectives interviewed described the same coach.
“He was very trustworthy. They had no reason to believe that he was doing anything nefarious with the funds,” Hamilton said.
Williford said Henson declined to speak with investigators.
“I understand that the subject did not want to be interviewed,” she said.
Henson resigned in November. Georgia’s track and cross country coaches association put him in its hall of fame in January 2025.
District spokesman Bernard Watson credited the people who came forward.
“Without those concerns, it might’ve gone a lot longer before anyone noticed,” Watson said.
Chief Financial Officer Asana Maller said auditors widened their review while the case was still open.
“We did continue to expand our internal audit area to look at additional boosters,” Maller said.
Greg Johnson, who leads the district’s internal audit team, said the rules already existed.
“If those requirements were being done by the track and field booster club, this situation likely would not have occurred,” Johnson said.
No one else has been charged.
Henson was inducted into the Georgia Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame in 2025.
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