A former civilian investigator with the Westminster Police Department is facing 15 felony charges after allegedly lying on her timesheet and claiming to have worked hundreds of hours that she didn’t, officials announced Tuesday.
Nadia Arlett Alvarez Poblete, 26, of Huntington Beach, has been charged with one felony count of grand theft by an employee and 14 felony counts of presenting a false claim, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Alvarez allegedly altered her timesheets to reflect that she worked twice the amount of hours she actually worked. A supervisor noticed she was often not at her workstation during her shift and that she left “well before” her shift was over, officials said.
Authorities confirmed that Alvarez had been paid for 566 hours that she did not actually work between Jan. 6 and Oct. 22, 2021. This apparently cost the department a total of $12,106, according to the DA’s Office.
Alvarez no longer works for the Police Department.
She faces a maximum sentence of more than 12 years in prison if she is convicted on all counts. She is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 8.
“The trust that the public must have in its law enforcement agencies does not rest solely with the uniformed officer,” said District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release. “The public’s confidence rests in the professionalism and ability of every person employed by that agency, from the front counter staff to the chief and everyone in between. Thankfully, the Westminster Police Department recognized the untruthfulness by one of its employees and took immediate action to put a stop to it and protect precious taxpayer dollars.”
