In what can only be described as a heartbreaking betrayal of community trust, 38-year-old Steve Rodriquez Prado of Henderson, Nevada, stands accused of treating a local children’s baseball budget like his own personal jackpot. As the former president of the Central Little League of Las Vegas, Prado was entrusted with safeguarding the funds meant to provide local kids with equipment, uniforms, and a safe place to play the game they love. Instead, Las Vegas police paint a grim portrait of a man who allegedly chose to raid the league’s coffers to finance a lavish, self-indulgent lifestyle that stood in stark contrast to the innocent youth sports program he was chosen to lead.
The financial house of cards began to collapse in March when worried board members of the Central Little League noticed critical discrepancies in their finances and contacted the authorities. Detectives quickly unearthed a staggering trail of greed, revealing that Prado had allegedly blown over $64,000 of the league’s money in less than five months. To keep his scheme afloat, investigators say Prado went so far as to hand over doctored Wells Fargo bank statements to his fellow board members, desperately trying to mask the financial hemoraging before his tenure came to an end. It was only after a grand jury issued subpoenas that the true, unedited scale of his deception was finally dragged into the light.
When police dug into the league’s transaction history, they discovered that the stolen funds were used to bankroll a series of unapologetic, adult-themed excursions that could not be further removed from youth baseball. In late January, the league’s card was allegedly swiped for a whopping $1,361 at Las Toxicas, a local strip club. The eye-watering tab included a premium $800 bottle of Don Julio 1942 tequila, buckets of beer, and various VIP privacy and service fees. Just a few weeks later, the spendthrift ex-president allegedly took the kids’ money to the high-roller tables, racking up $1,284 across six separate transactions at the Bellagio’s exclusive Baccarat Bar.
The shameless spending spree continued through Valentine’s Day, when Prado reportedly used the non-profit’s funds to fuel his sports betting habit, making five transactions totaling $258 at the Caesars sportsbook along with buying extra cocktails. In perhaps the most bizarre and indicting detail of the arrest report, police discovered that Prado had also charged $294 to the league’s card for BlueChew, a prescription erectile dysfunction medication. The arresting officers felt compelled to state the obvious in their official report, dryly noting that such medication is meant strictly for adults and is absolutely “not intended for juvenile consumption.”
Beyond the flashy nightlife and personal vices, Prado is accused of using the children’s league as his personal everyday checking account. Between January and March, he allegedly charged more than 70 transactions to the league’s debit card for routine personal expenses, including Uber and Lyft rides, Uber Eats deliveries, and electric vehicle charging sessions. The stolen money was also allegedly diverted to cover his basic cost of living, with transactions tracing back to the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, Geico auto insurance, personal video games, and even a flight on Spirit Airlines, alongside numerous unauthorized Zelle transfers.
Following his arrest on charges of grand theft and forgery, Prado reportedly dismissed the serious allegations to police, claiming the entire situation had been “blown out of proportion” before refusing to answer further questions. Lovable community volunteers are rarely expected to have criminal pasts, but investigators soon discovered that Prado possessed a record of serious offenses, including 2012 convictions in California for robbery, receiving stolen property, and conspiracy to commit robbery. Now, as the legal system prepares to hold him accountable, a devastated community is left picking up the pieces, wondering how the dreams of young athletes were so easily traded for cheap thrills and personal luxury.
