After a six-month investigation, Burbank police announced that the Burbank City Attorney’s Office had charged former Burroughs High School basketball coach Austin Pope and charged him with one count of Theft by False Pretenses Exceeding $950.
Pope, 29, graduated from Burbank in 2013 and played at North Idaho College and later Chaminade University in Hawaii. After his college career, he played professionally in Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Serbia, and the NBA’s G-League.
He was hired at Burroughs as the Head Varsity Basketball Coach in May 2023 after serving the previous season as an assistant coach at Viewpoint High School in Calabasas.
According to Burbank police, the intensive investigation included obtaining witness and victim statements and the review of financial records. The investigation has revealed that Pope misappropriated the funds he was entrusted with in his official capacity as a coach.
The police then referred the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, which then referred it to the Burbank City Attorney’s Office. Pope is due to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 28, 2024, for arraignment.
Pope was relieved of his duties from Burroughs in late November of 2023, approximately 90 minutes before the Bears were scheduled to face Harvard-Westlake in a nonleague road contest Wednesday evening. Players were told after the game of his suspension at the time.
Police say the investigation is ongoing. If anyone has information, they are asked to contact the Burbank Police Department Investigations Division at (818) 238-3210.
Editor’s Note: This story was revised at 4 pm on June 5
