Six police officers in Antioch, California, are facing jail time for a scheme to fraudulently obtain college degrees to earn higher pay, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
A federal jury found law enforcements officer Morteza Amiri guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of the scheme, according to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. Amiri’s conviction came after five other officers — either from the Antioch Police Department (APD) or the Pittsburg Police Department (PPD) — pleaded guilty to paying another individual to take college classes for them.
The officers falsely claimed to have earned bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice, prosecutors said. This allowed them to qualify for raises and financial incentives they had not rightfully earned, as well as reimbursements. Out of the six officers, Amiri’s case was the only one to go to trial. He now faces up to 20 years in prison for each of his two convictions.
“Amiri engaged in a calculated conspiracy to defraud his police department of taxpayer funds. His actions were a violation of the law and a grave betrayal of public trust,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp said, according to the press release. (RELATED: Massive College Scams Taxpayers Out Of Student Loans With Fake Enrollment Paperwork, Whistleblowers Say)
Prosecutors provided evidence at Amiri’s trial that he had texted the individual who took his classes for him, the DOJ wrote. “[C]an I hire you [] to do my … classes? ill pay you per class” he wrote.
“Amiri was ALSO caught up in the Antioch Police Department’s racist texting scandal in 2023.”
Bad apples
Rotten orchardhttps://t.co/5BvGrVOX4r— VReeseMD (@HandWShow) August 13, 2024
“[D]on’t tell a soul about me hiring you for this. we can’t afford it getting leaked and me losing my job,” Amiri wrote in another text, according to the press release.
These convictions have added to a troubled history for the APD and PPD, both located in cities in California’s East Bay region. An FBI and Contra Costa County investigation into the agencies uncovered a racist text messaging scandal relating to members of the APD, according to Fox 2. No less than ten officers were indicted on charges including civil rights violations, records falsification, obstructing justice and wire fraud, ABC 7 reported. The department had long been accused of engaging in racist policing practices, according to KQED.
