The former treasurer of the Hawaii Youth Soccer Association’s Maui Youth League pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Thursday to bank fraud for stealing more than $180,000 from the league over 3-1/2 years.

Riki Maeda, 57, faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine at sentencing in February. As part of his plea agreement, he has also agreed to pay back the $180,203 he stole.

He told U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard L. Puglisi that he wrote at least 80 or 90 unauthorized checks on the league’s bank account.

“I wrote the checks to myself and deposited them in my checking account,” Maeda said. He did that between September 2014 and this past March.

As treasurer, Maeda had authority to sign league checks. On some of the checks, however, Maeda forged the signatures of other league officials.

“I’m not sure why I forged it. It wasn’t necessary,” he told Puglisi.

Maeda said he also wrote false information in the memo section of the checks to make it appear that they were for legitimate purposes.

As treasurer it was Maeda’s job to maintain the finances of the organization, generate payroll and pay the referees. League officials uncovered what Maeda was doing when they learned the referees were not getting paid.

Maeda learned in August that he was the target of a federal fraud investigation. That is the same time Maui police asked the public for help in locating him. Maeda said Thursday that it was also when he attempted to commit suicide. He said he was hospitalized for eight or nine days after his suicide attempt.