Attorney General Bonta Announces Charges Against Six Former California Highway Patrol Officers in East Los Angeles

Former officers allegedly claimed over $20,000 in fraudulent overtime hours

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced charges against six former California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers in connection with an alleged, multi-year overtime fraud scheme. The charges are the result of an internal criminal investigation by CHP that looked into whether officers in the East Los Angeles station were exaggerating the number of overtime hours they worked. The six former officers face a total of 97 counts, including one count each of grand theft and multiple counts of presentation of a fraudulent claim. The total amount of the fraudulent overtime hours is $23,418.27.

“Trust is a fundamental part of effective law enforcement,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Californians should be able to depend on CHP officers to keep our roads and highways safe, and when officers don't adhere to the law themselves, it erodes our communities' trust. I applaud CHP for taking action to investigate and seek accountability for those officers who have allegedly broken the public’s trust.”   

In May 2018, CHP launched an investigation into overtime fraud that allegedly occurred between January 1, 2016 and March 31, 2018. During that period, multiple officers in the East Los Angeles station were suspected of recording additional overtime hours when they were assigned to provide protection detail for Caltrans workers through the Maintenance Zone Enhanced Enforcement Program or the Construction Zone Enhanced Enforcement Program. For instance, rather than recording the three to four hours actually worked at a detail, an officer would allegedly record and receive pay for eight hours of overtime.

Today’s charges are part of an ongoing investigation.

It is important to note that a criminal complaint contains charges that are only allegations against a person. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.

A copy of the complaint is available here.