OAKLAND — A woman who worked for both the Pittsburg and Santa Clara police departments has been ordered to spend 90 days in federal prison for her involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain pay bumps.
Amanda Theodosy-Nash publicly apologized before she was sentenced to three months in prison and three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $11,000 in restitution. Theodosy-Nash was one of the half-dozen former Pittsburg and Antioch officers indicted for paying an officer’s then-fiancée to take college courses in their names so they could receive incentive pay they didn’t earn.
“I took an oath and I broke that promise by cheating,” Theodosy-Nash said in court Tuesday. “One shortcut cost me over 12 years of hard work.”
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White handed down the sentence, and it was largely in line with what he’s given her co-defendants. The exceptions are former Pittsburg Officer Patrick Berhan, the ringleader of the scheme who received a two-and-a-half-year prison term, and Samantha Peterson, who was a community service officer in Antioch and received no jail time.
All six defendants paid Berhan’s fiancée to take online courses and receive bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice, which made them eligible for reward programs offered to Antioch and Pittsburg city employees who obtained higher education. Theodosy-Nash later put on her application to be a Santa Clara city officer that she had a bachelor’s degree, even though it was the result of fraud, prosecutors said.
Berhan’s fiancée reported his crimes and became a government witness after learning he was unfaithful. She testified at another officer’s trial earlier this year.
Theodosy-Nash’s acceptance of responsibility came right after her lawyer, Paul Goyette, downplayed her crimes and said that jailing her would serve “no interest in justice whatsoever.” Goyette added that Theodosy-Nash never actually entered into a criminal conspiracy, prompting White to interrupt and ask him if his client wished to withdraw her guilty plea on conspiracy charge.
“No, we’re not your honor,” Goyette said.
With Theodosy-Nash’s sentence, only one defendant is waiting to learn his fate: ex-Antioch Officer Morteza Amiri, who was convicted at trial over the summer. Amiri also faces charges of committing violent civil rights violations in a separate case, along with two former Antioch officers.
Amiri was also involved in a massive texting scandal that engulfed nearly half of the police department. He was found to have sent numerous offensive texts, including racial slurs, racist remarks about suspects and admissions to committing crimes, according to a Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office report.
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