Cal State Long Beach athletics staffers stole thousands from school, D.A. says

Two former members of the Cal State Long Beach athletics department are accused of stealing thousands of taxpayer dollars from the university by submitting false time sheets and splitting the profits, authorities said.

Oscar Perez Almanza, 38, and Hender Noe Maxwell, 38, were each charged with one felony count of conspiracy to commit grand theft and one felony count of grand theft, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman announced Monday. They both pleaded not guilty.

The pair are accused of running a payroll fraud scheme in 2022 when Almanza was working as a field supervisor in the athletics department and Maxwell had left a position as grounds worker. Prosecutors say Maxwell submitted false time sheets, billing the university for hundreds of hours of work, which Almanza then approved even though he knew Maxwell was no longer employed by the school.

The pair allegedly stole $36,560 from the university via this scheme and split the profits.

“I am appalled at the brazen acts of criminality allegedly committed by employees of California State University, Long Beach, an institution that depends on public funding and public trust,” Hochman said in a statement. “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.”

The duo face enhancements to their charges for allegations that the offenses indicated planning, sophistication, professionalism and a theft of great monetary value, according to the district attorney’s office.

California

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If convicted as charged, they each face a maximum sentence of three years in county jail.

Almanza and Maxwell were arraigned Monday and released on the condition that they relinquish their passports. They are due back in court April 14. This case was investigated by the CSULB Police Department.

“We appreciate our University Police for their initial investigation and the district attorney’s office for pursuing this matter,” Jim Milbury, Cal State Long Beach director of news media services, told The Times.