https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE Expo
    • Calendar of Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Economy


Article

Former California city employee pleads guilty to embezzling over $600,000

Former California city employee pleads guilty to embezzling over $600,000

A former employee of the Glendale, Calif. City Attorney’s office has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling nearly $610,000 in taxpayer dollars over a 17-year period.
  • Written by Jason Axelrod
  • 2nd October 2017

A former employee of the Glendale, Calif. City Attorney’s office has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling nearly $610,000 in taxpayer dollars over a 17-year period.

Cassandra Alexander, who resided in the Winnetka neighborhood of Los Angeles, was charged with one count of theft from an organization receiving federal funds, MyNewsLA reports. A plea agreement was reached later that day.

“With the fact that the plea agreement also includes restitution, [Glendale] will be able to be made whole and get the people’s money back,” city spokesman Tom Lorenz told the Glendale News-Press.

As part of her job as claims and litigation support supervisor, Alexander assembled “settlement packets,” which were used to settle personal injury and property damage claims against the city, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. 

These packets contained settlement approval from a member of the city council and the city attorney’s office and gave authorization for the city’s attorney office to send out a check to the claimant. Alexander was also responsible for picking up the checks and giving them to claimants’ attorneys, per MyNewsLA.

With unlimited authority to direct the city’s finance department to issue checks, Alexander created and submitted fraudulent settlement packets that made the finance department create 30 checks for her family and acquaintances, MyNewsLA reports. The fraudulent claimants would then cash the checks and send the money to her, per the plea agreement. 

The prosecution team also claimed that Alexander faked council meeting minutes to better legitimize the fraudulent checks, the News-Press reports. 

 "The security of public funds and, more importantly, the public’s trust is paramount. There is nothing more that destroys this than an employee's unlawful actions,” Glendale Mayor Vartan Gharpelian said in a city news release.

City staff had reported a disparity in the settlement of a damages claim in March 2017, a Glendale news release notes. Glendale investigators subsequently seized and cancelled an $82,500 check Alexander had issued to a relative, per the News-Press and the Glendale news release. The city subsequently suspended Alexander four days later, and Alexander resigned just over a month later, per the news release.

The city ultimately turned the investigation over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “because the federal penalties are generally more severe,” the city news release notes. Alexander faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, the News-Press reports.

“The City of Glendale is fortunate to have partnerships with our federal agencies. Our city staff and police department worked closely with the US Attorney’s Office, as well as agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to ensure that justice was served, and Ms. Alexander was held accountable for her actions,” Gharpelian said in the news release.

_____________

To get connected and stay up-to-date with similar content from American City & County:
Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter
Watch us on YouTube

Tags: Economy News Article

Most Recent


  • Report: Local cybersecurity programs are facing headwinds as threats, technologies evolve
    The evolving technological landscape isn’t just changing the nation’s social and economic norms, it’s also pushing local governments to adapt. A new analysis from the Public Technology Institute provides a snapshot of the challenges local cybersecurity programs are facing, and the priorities of city and county administrators as they guide organizations through an unprecedented era […]
  • CISA publishes AI roadmap to support security, competitiveness of American cities and counties
    The advent of artificial intelligence poses technical, ethical, political and security challenges for American local governments of all sizes. As AI becomes more prevalent and pervasive with each year that passes, the federal government is taking proactive steps now to avert future crises. A key part of that initiative is a new plan called the […]
  • EPA opens $2B in funding for climate resilience, environmental justice projects
    In the national push toward climate resilience, investing in a way that’s equitable for everyone is an important consideration—and one the federal government is currently prioritizing. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently opened about $2 billion in funding to support community-driven projects that deploy clean energy, strengthen climate resilience, and build capacity for communities to […]
  • manhattan, new york city
    Gallery: Top 10 domestic city travel destinations this Thanksgiving season
    From Interstate 91 leaving Springfield, Mass. to Route 40 heading for Flagstaff, Ariz., byways and thoroughfares across the country are congested this week with travelers commuting to out-of-state destinations for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Tuesday and Wednesday before, and the Sunday afterward, are historically the busiest travel days of the year, according to the Transportation […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery
  • Rethinking the ways cities can invest in vital neighborhoods
  • How to innovate and invest on a budget in state and local IT services
  • Treasury Department launches Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to deliver $350 billion in funding

White papers


The Four Key Components of Successful Digital Transformation

22nd November 2023

Navigating Today’s Greatest Workplace Challenges

3rd October 2023

7 Resources to Level-up Your Federal Grants Administration and Compliance

5th September 2023
view all

Webinars


Grant Preparedness: Unlocking Funding Opportunities for Your Success

10th August 2023

2023 State of Public Sourcing: Taking Local Governments into a Bright Future

1st August 2023

Stop Playing with Fire: How to Manage Infrastructure Asset Risk So You Know You’re Covered

20th June 2023
view all

PODCAST


Podcast: Disaster Management Symposium preview

13th October 2023

Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


Gallery: Top 10 domestic city travel destinations this Thanksgiving season

22nd November 2023

Gallery: 10 American cities that have seen substantial population growth in the last five years

6th November 2023

Gallery: 10 of America’s greenest large cities

24th October 2023
view all

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.