LOS ANGELES, California — A former police chief and an officer from the Metropolitan State Hospital have been charged with felony grand theft for allegedly submitting fraudulent timecards to divert public funds for personal gain.
Donald Santarin Salvador, a 44-year-old from Lake Forest, and former Chief of Police for the California Department of State Hospitals in Norwalk, faces one count of grand theft. Daniel James Beauregard, a 50-year-old from Northridge and former hospital police officer, is also charged with one felony count of grand theft, according to a press release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The alleged scheme, which took place from November 2022 through April 2023, involved submitting timecards for hours that Beauregard did not spend performing police duties. Instead, it is claimed he worked on projects for Daly Strategic Group LLC, a security consulting company owned by Salvador. The estimated loss from this scheme exceeded $40,000…