Two employees associated with California State University Long Beach are facing charges over an alleged scheme where they reportedly falsified time sheets to embezzle $36,560 from the university's Athletics Department. As reported by CBS News Los Angeles, Oscar Perez Almanza and Hender Noe Maxwell stand accused of conspiring to certify hundreds of hours of nonexistent work throughout 2022.
According to the allegations from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, both Almanza and Maxwell, who was a former grounds worker for the Athletics Department, plotted to steal and subsequently share the funds unjustly claimed. In a statement obtained by KTLA, the District Attorney underscored these acts as being planned, sophisticated, and professional, an attempt that caused significant monetary damage to the university.
The two were charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit grand theft and grand theft - charges that came after the university's own Police Department spearheaded an investigation into the matter. Both defendants pled not guilty at their arraigment. "Stealing from California's venerated public university system steals from taxpayers and the thousands of students who rely on the university for affordable tuition and educational and career opportunities," District Attorney Nathan Hochman was quoted saying in the official press release from the DA's office.
The court decision to release both men on their own recognizance pending trial was contingent upon the forfeiture of their passports. Faced with the prospect of three years in county jail if convicted, they are set to appear back in court on April 14. This case, being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Robert Zoumberakis of the Public Integrity Division, is expected to closely examine the span of January to December 2022 to establish the specifics of their operation. According to documents obtained by CBS News Los Angeles, even after Maxwell had ceased employment at CSULB, Almanza continued to certify Maxwell's hours, in what investigators describe as a mutual agreement to purloin funds from the institution.
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