California education official embezzled over $16 million, hid cash in mini fridge, officials say

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

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A former California public school district official was sentenced to over five years in prison Thursday after officials found he embezzled nearly $16.7 million from the district over the years — hiding stacks of cash in a small refrigerator.

Jorge Armando Contreras, 53, who previously worked as the senior director of fiscal services at the Magnolia School District, a public school district that serves Anaheim and Stanton, faced his judgement Thursday in Santa Ana court.

He was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $16,694,942 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California said in a news release.

He had pleaded guilty in March to one count of embezzlement, theft and intentional misapplication of funds from an organization receiving federal funds.

In his scheme, he wrote checks in small dollar amounts written to “M S D” with the letters spaced out. After receiving the paper signatures from others, he would fill in those blanks to spell fictitious names and increase the amounts of the checks and deposit them into his personal bank account at ATM’s. To conceal the theft, he provided bank reconciliation packets to others at the school district with falsified bank statements and records.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-education-official-embezzled-16-million-hid-cash-mini-fridg-rcna163859

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Embezzlement is far too common and under-reported.

I was hired as an attorney to retrieve $19,000+ that a former treasurer embezzled from a non-profit. He had been replaced by a recent election and refused to return the checkbook and bank statements. My initial advice was to close the account, get a new account and new checks. The President didn't listen to me. And the Treasurer wrote a check for $14,000 to himself. And wrote another check.

Needless to say, I had to research for more than three months, wrote a 25+ page Complaint and another 25+ page Brief, and filed a Declaratory Judgment action against the Treasurer. Stuff like Embezzlement, Fraud, Conversion, Bank Fraud, Deceit, etc. The Treasurer was chagrined and correctly worried this action would be transferred to the Prosecutor.

We got all the money back without stepping into court.

I'd tell you how the Treasurer successfully embezzled the money, but I don't want to disclose his method.

[DeepWinter]

2. Court

Something I was told in my young 30's by a friend of the family who was a Supreme Court Justice for Iowa, (to paraphrase)
"Do not go to court looking for Justice. Do everything you can to come to terms you are comfortable with outside of court. The Court offers only a chance at justice. That chance and t's outcome may or may not please or be agreeable with you."

The older I get, the more I see, the more I appreciate that early tidbit of wisdom she passed on.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Agree with you.

My Wills and Estates professor also admonished our class to work like Hell behind the scenes, but don't go to court, expecting to win.

My voluminous Complaint and Brief could be labeled as "bluffs" to intimidate the Embezzler to give up the money. We didn't explicitly threaten him with prosecution, conviction, and jail, but there it was anyway.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

4. its happened at places Ive worked at. You are right... its more common than people think