By Hender Noe Maxwell and Oscar Perez Almanza pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit grand theft on March 3. During a pre-trial hearing on April 14, they were told to return to court on June 14.
Both men are former Long Beach State Athletics Department employees.
Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney in the public integrity division, Bobby Zoumberakis, said the District Attorney’s office’s first goal for the case is to make Long Beach State whole financially.
While that is a priority, he said there is also an additional goal.
“And then after that it’s, you know, holding the defendants accountable for their conduct, and hopefully sending a message to other individuals to deter them from committing crimes like this,” Zoumberakis said.
Complaint documents from the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center against Almanza and Maxwell show 33 overt acts committed in their conspiracy to commit grand theft.
The documents focus on the period between Jan. 15, 2022, and Dec. 1, 2022, for the count of conspiracy.
It shows a pattern of Maxwell submitting a timesheet certifying hours while working for the LBSU Athletics Department.
According to the documents, Almanza approved the submitted timesheet, and CSULB officials then deposited funds into Maxwell’s chosen bank account. Afterward, Maxwell transferred funds from that account into Almanza’s bank account.
In one of the overt acts, it is noted that CSULB officials renewed a “part-time, hourly and contractual position” for Maxwell after Almanza requested it.
“In Overt Act 7, the prosecution alleges that Oscar Almanza requested the renewal of Hender’s contract in furtherance of a conspiracy to commit grand theft,” Zoumberakis said via email.
He said the not-guilty pleas from the defendants are quite common and that it is rare for an accused person to plead guilty or no contest to charges.
The April 14 court appearance was to give all attorneys a chance to discuss the case and ensure that all parties had the discovery items.
According to Zoumberakis, discovery items can include documents, reports and witness statements.
He said the Long Beach State University Police Department investigated the case, conducted interviews and reviewed documents related to it.
From there, this information was presented to the District Attorney’s office.
Zoumberakis said the case documentation focused on the timesheets submitted by Maxwell, which Almanza then approved.
He also stated that the fraudulent timesheets and their approval “…ultimately led to Maxwell being paid for work that he had not performed, and then Maxwell was splitting that money with Almanza.”
According to court documents for case 25CJCF01062-02, defendants Maxwell and Almanza are charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, Penal Code section 182(a)(1).
In addition, they are both charged with one count each of grand theft, Penal Code section 487(a), for “unlawfully stealing, taking, carrying, leading and driving away with personal property of California State University, Long Beach,” according to court documents.
The complaint against Maxwell and Almanza, originally filed Feb. 27 in the Los Angeles Superior Court, also alleges California Rules of Court Rule 4.421(a)(8) and (a)(9) apply to the counts the pair is charged with.
Almanza and Maxwell are charged with the grand theft of $36,560.28.
