A jury in Campbell Municipal Court later found Atsas not guilty of any wrongdoing.
Attorney Scott Essad of Boardman filed the suit recently in U.S. District Court, seeking damages of $475,000. Judge Sara Lioi in Akron is assigned to hear the case.
It names as defendants Campbell schools Superintendent Matthew Bowen, the Campbell City School District Board of Education, Campbell police officer Ryan Young, police Lt. Kevin Sferra and the city.
The Campbell Police Department charged Atsas with six felony counts of theft in office and six misdemeanor counts of theft by deception in November 2019. The charges followed an investigation prompted by Bowen, who went to police Nov. 19, 2019, to report concerns that Atsas may have “possibly stolen money from the soccer program and kept the money for his personal gain,” according to a Campbell police report.