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Lawsuit alleges St. John Bosco head coach embezzled money, directed payment for football players' tuition

Collin-headshotby:Collin Ginnan•01/28/25•

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High School Football: St. John Bosco v. Serra
Dec 10, 2022; Mission Viejo, California, USA; St. John Bosco head coach Jason Negro during the first quarter against Serra Padres in the CIF State Football Championship Open Division Bowl at Saddleback College. Going into the game St. John Bosco was the #1 ranked high school football team in the USA. Mandatory credit: Robert Hanashiro - USA TODAY.

Three former employees at Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco High School have filed a lawsuit alleging that football coach Jason Negro embezzled money from the school and had assistant coaches pay the tuition of star players.

A spokesman for the CIF Southern Section told the Los Angeles Times that the payment of athletes’ tuition is a “potential violation” of CIF bylaws, which state that “anybody tied to the school cannot give out money based on athletic ability.”

According to the LA Times, the lawsuit also alleges that Negro used cash for all ‘financial transactions’ for the program and that there was no accounting by St. John Bosco.

Former St. John Bosco president Brian Wickstrom, chief financial officer Melanie Marcaurel and vice president of technology Derek Barraza filed the lawsuit. Wickstrom and Marcaurel were fired in July 2024 and Barraza left in September.

“The Salesian Order’s termination of Wickstrom and Marcaurel was motivated by the desire to protect the football program and its head coach Jason Negro from scrutiny or oversight of illegal conduct,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit also alleges that the Salesian Society retaliated against the plaintiffs, violating California’s California Whistleblower Protection Act. Marcaurel in particular had confronted Negro about his practice of utilizing cash payments.

“St. John Bosco High School is aware of claims made against the Salesian Society and myself by former employees of St. John Bosco,” Negro said in a statement. “An independent investigation has already been conducted and all the facts will come to light in court. The claim has been in the hands of our legal team and our school will defer all questions to them.”

Since Jason Negro took over the program in 2010, the Braves have regularly been among the nation’s best high school football programs.

St. John Bosco finished 11-2, with both of its losses in 2024 coming to Mater Dei, the No. 1 team in America. The Bellflower program still finished as the No. 5 team in the nation in the On3 Composite National High School Football Rankings thanks to wins over the likes of Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) and in-state Orange Lutheran, Sierra Canyon and JSerra Catholic.

Notable alumni under coach Jason Negro at St. John Bosco include NFL offensive lineman Wyatt Davis, former UCLA QB Josh Rosen, Florida State QB DJ Uiagalelei, Notre Dame true freshman linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and more.