Mother of UT golfer pleads guilty to embezzling from Dallas-area club

The mother of two NCAA Division-I golfers recently pleaded guilty to embezzling over $70,000 from a Carrollton, Texas, golf club by which she’d been employed and to which several PGA Tour players belong.

Alison Morrison, whose sons Tommy and Jack are sophomores at Texas and Santa Clara, respectively, had been charged with theft of property totaling between $30,000 and $150,000, a third-degree felony, after police say she used Maridoe Golf Club-issued credit cards – one belonging to her and a second to another employee – to rack up $71,534.50 in purchases that ranged from golf lessons and equipment to phone bills and hotel rooms.

According to court documents obtained by GolfChannel.com, the unauthorized purchases occurred between Jan. 5, 2020, and Dec. 27, 2020, and Maridoe’s owner, Albert Huddleston, reported the theft to police on April 29, 2021. Morrison was indicted on Feb. 25, 2022, and on March 4 she accepted the terms of her plea bargain, which includes three years of deferred community supervision (no travel outside Dallas/Collin County except for work, and no alcohol or drug use, among other conditions) and $50,795.94 of restitution paid at time of plea.

This news was first reported by the Dallas Morning News.

Morrison’s attorney, Wyatt Brady III, told The News via statement that Morrison “was not convicted of a criminal charge.”

“At my legal advice and after four long years of this matter pending, this matter was settled without a conviction,” Brady said. “This case had many untruths, but the family wanted to put this matter behind them. The family is thriving. They are responsible and positive members of this community. The Morrison family is beloved by many who know their true character and Dallas is fortunate to have them as citizens.”

Huddleston felt differently, however, telling The News:

“Alison Morrison egregiously breached the trust Maridoe placed with her, and pleading guilty to a felony and requiring restitution leaves no question as to her guilt.”

Morrison was hired by Maridoe as a consultant in November 2019 (during her tenure, she was compensated $245,500). The next year, she organized a pair of charity golf tournaments during the COVID-19 pandemic with proceeds going to the club’s caddies, who had been out of work. Scottie Scheffler won the first, Brandon Wu the second, and other Tour pros such as Will Zalatoris, Viktor Hovland and Davis Riley teed it up, as did former Cowboys quarterback and TV analyst Tony Romo. Romo, Zalatoris, Riley and Jordan Spieth are among Maridoe’s members.

Maridoe has hosted several amateur and college tournaments, including the 2020 Southern Amateur, 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball and 2021 Maridoe Collegiate, which was televised on Golf Channel.

Marc Wielgosz, Maridoe’s general manager, told police that after Morrison was hired, she was “given the reins.” Morrison began controlling the accounts payable sheet, according to Wielgosz, and told Wielgosz that she was “running the show and anything she said was gospel from Albert.” Maridoe accountant Melody Phillips echoed similar statements to police; Morrison took charge of all club payments while making comments to Phillips such as “I am your employer” and “I’m the reason you’re still here.”

Jennifer Consemiu, Maridoe’s director of member services and whose credit card Morrison initially borrowed before receiving her own in December 2019, told police that Morrison created an organizational chart of Maridoe employees, listing herself as “Managing Member” and second in charge under Huddleston, and posted the chart in the club’s boardroom.

Morrison, in an interview with detective Lauryl Duncan, said that she “never had to show a receipt” and was “never asked to do an expense report.” She added that Phillips never questioned an expense. But the affidavit notes two emails sent by Phillips to Morrison: In one, on Feb. 14, 2020, Phillips told Morrison that her card charges for the previous month totaled $54,883.73 and that she had a receipt for a $16,000 entrance fee for the Farmers Insurance Open pro-am but needed receipts for the remaining charges; the second email indicated that Morrison had also accrued $21,999 in charges on Consemiu’s card. Morrison replied to the latter email on Feb. 17, 2020; “Thanks Mel.”

Police documents detailed over $66,000 of what Huddleston confirmed were unauthorized charges made by Morrison using Maridoe funds, including:

• $18,334 on 41 golf lessons for her sons Tommy and Jack; Morrison told police that Huddleston “was also taking the lessons,” though two of the instructors, Josh Gregory and Troy Denton, disputed that claim to police.
• $10,466.39 in Costco purchases, including groceries, clothing and electronics.
• $5,417.62 in cell phone charges by AT&T; Morrison, who made eight payments with her company card, confirmed to police that it was her telephone and family share plan.
• $4,197.34 in hotel rooms, food and golf related fees at UT Golf Club, which has several on-course casitas and where the Texas men’s golf team has their facility.
• $2,806 in StrackaLine materials; an email Morrison sent by Morrison on Jan. 11, 2021, says that the charges were personal and made using Consemiu’s card by mistake, and included another credit card number.
• $2,548.05 on HyperIce Norma Tek recovery boots; Morrison told police they were for the club’s fitness area, but Wielgosz disputed that claim, saying the club had one pair of recovery boots, though of a different brand.
• $1,175 for Morrison’s youngest son, Mac, to attend UT Athletic camp; plus, another $250 deposit for Mac for Camp Longhorn.
• $1,014 on what Morrison said were goodie-bag items for a Maridoe event purchased at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Aberdeen, North Carolina; items purchased included men’s golf and athletic apparel, and sunglasses, and Morrison’s loyalty card info was tied to the purchase.
• $1,006.73 on equipment from Sellinger’s PowerGolf in Addison, Texas, for her sons.
• $616.24 in NTTA toll charges; Wielgosz told police that “no one on staff used the business card for toll tags.”
• $581.03 on school uniforms from Risse Brothers School; Morrison told police she purchased the clothes (polo and Oxford shirts, boys shorts and trousers, and sweater vests) for Maridoe’s grounds crew while the school’s general manager told police that the shirts and vests all had Trinity Christian Academy logos on them. Another $345.32 clothing purchase was made to Trinity Christian Academy directly.
• $576.56 on Whoop gear, which Morrison said were samples for the club.
• $135 for a speeding ticket issued by the City of McAlester, Oklahoma; Morrison said she used her card because she was traveling for business.

Other unauthorized charges, laid out in the affidavit, included:

• $9,563.55 in Venmo charges
• $1,956.10 from Mirror Interactive Home Gym
• $1,384.06 on a golf net from The Net Return
• $1,134.46 from Lululemon
• $800 from Ulta
• $590 on two Smathers and Branson golf belts
• $577 on a WellPutt indoor putting mat
• $322.92 on two heated pouches and a spare battery from G-Tech Apparel USA, Inc.
• $119.40 on study materials from Course Hero
• $119.06 from UniversityCoop.com
• $111.97 from WB Liquors

“We are very appreciative to the City of Carrollton detectives, and the Dallas County District Attorney’s office for their professionalism in this matter,” Huddleston added in a statement to The News.

It’s understood that Morrison’s probation will keep her from attending her son’s golf tournaments. Tommy Morrison, who is noted for his 6-foot-9 frame and decorated junior-golf resumé prior to enrolling early last January at Texas, is currently ranked No. 84 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and one of the Longhorns’ top players, recently tying for 12^th at the Johnnie-O event in St. Simon Island, Georgia, which followed his best finish of the season, a T-6 at the Southern Highlands Collegiate. Jack Morrison is unranked as an amateur.