PITTSBURGH — The former high school baseball coach of a Western Pennsylvania boy who made national headlines in his courageous efforts to play sports while dying of cancer has been charged by federal authorities with stealing $91,000 from a charity dedicated to terminally ill children.

The attorney for 39-year-old Steven Wetzel says his client is remorseful and intends to plead guilty to charges leveled late Thursday by federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh.

Investigators say Wetzel established the Hero Fund after 18-year-old John Challis died in 2008. Challis played baseball for Wetzel and Freedom High School in Beaver County, then went on to meet the Pittsburgh Pirates and throw out the first pitch at a game two months before he died.

But investigators say Wetzel spent about 90 percent of the money he raised on personal bills and expenses.