The golf instructor at the Bethpage State Park courses in New York is accusing her former business partner of embezzling more than $300,000 and then attempting to frame others for his actions.
Kelley Brooke, an instructor who was named LPGA Professional of the Year in 2018, sued because the firm’s former vice president, Paul O’Donoghue, stole money during his six years running the pro shop at Bethpage in Long. Island.
According to the lawsuit, O’Donoghue stole cash receipts before they were deposited into Bethpage Golf’s bank account “on more than two thousand occasions over six years.”
O’Donoghue allegedly issued more than 1,000 cash refunds to golf cart rental customers, even though the course has a strict policy against cash refunds.
The lawsuit claims he covered up his actions by creating false debits in the field’s point-of-sale system under the names of other employees, including a teenager with autism who worked on a field ball collection machine.
Kelley Brooke, a golf instructor at Bethpage State Park Golf Course, is suing her former business partner for embezzling more than $300,000 over the course of several years.
O’Donoghue allegedly stole 17 payments that he recorded as being made by that employee in question, even though the boy did not have access to the system or his records, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claims that he received 18 cash payments in 2022 and 2023 that were “made” by an employee who had died the previous year. Others “involved” included someone who had left his job in 2020 and an accountant from another state who had never visited the course.
‘As a result of O’Donoghue’s fraudulent schemes, which involved the theft of more than three hundred thousand dollars in cash from Bethpage Golf by recording false entries in the POS system on more than two thousand occasions, Bethpage Golf suffered damages from which seeks various reliefs,” the lawsuit says.
Bethpage Golf Group, of which Brooke is president, has managed the on-site pro shop as well as the driving range, golf cart rentals and private lesson bookings since January 2018.
According to the lawsuit, Brooke and O’Donoghue divided their duties, with Brooke overseeing operations on a broader scale and O’Donoghue managing the sporting goods store on a day-to-day basis.
The lawsuit says O’Donoghue was the “only person in possession of the golf shop’s daily cash receipts,” allowing him to execute his plans without anyone noticing.
That was until Brooke looked back through the books and discovered “anomalies” in multiple parts of the finances, which only seemed to occur when O’Donoghue was working.
O’Donoghue was once confronted for stealing more than $3,000 from caddies. When asked about it, he said he took it and would return it, which he never did.
Brooke (left) claims Paul O’Donoghue covered his tracks by recording debits in the names of several employees, including an autistic teenager who worked at the driving range.
Bethpage State Park’s famous ‘Black’ course to host Ryder Cup in 2025
O’Donoghue is also alleged to have taken $3,000 from Bethpage Golf’s safe which was not returned after being confronted about it. He also allegedly stole other smaller amounts of cash and forged Brooke’s signature on numerous occasions, including on a check for $4,000.
The lawsuit says Brooke fired him in July.
This is the latest in a long-running back-and-forth between the two sides that began when O’Donoghue sued Brooke and claimed he owns half of the business. Brooke claims she only owns 30 percent.
Brooke says she invested $2.3 million in Bethpage Golf and that’s why she owns a larger share of the company. O’Donoghue refutes those claims.
Bethpage State Park Golf Course is one of the most historic and renowned public golf facilities in the United States, featuring five courses, including the famous “Black” course.
Bethpage Black hosted the US Open in 2002 and 2009, as well as the 2019 PGA Championship.
Next year, the Black course will host the 2025 Ryder Cup.
