San Miguel CSD employee sentenced for theft and embezzlement of $38,000
–District Attorney Dan Dow announced that Kallie Johnson, age 30, was sentenced today by Judge Hernaldo Baltodano to 180 days jail for her theft of $38,000 from the San Miguel Community Services District.
The Community Services District provides water, sewer, solid waste disposal, street lighting, and general administrative services to the community of San Miguel, population 2,400. Johnson pled no-contest to a felony violation of Penal Code section 424(a), misappropriation of public funds, and a felony violation of Penal Code section 504, embezzlement of public funds. Johnson’s exposure for these charges was up to four years in prison.
The thefts occurred between June 2015 and Nov. 2015 while Johnson was working as the district’s bookkeeper. According to evidence in the case, during that time she manipulated the district’s payroll system to increase the amount of her paycheck. She did this on eleven separate occasions, increasing the amount of each paycheck from $2,000 to as much as $4,000.
“The public has a right to expect that all government officials, whether employees in small local districts or state agency officials, will serve the public and protect our valuable public resources. Ms. Johnson abused her position by stealing from the residents who live in San Miguel and we will not allow public corruption in any form to go unpunished in San Luis Obispo County,” said District Attorney Dan Dow.
“While the sentence is less than we had hoped for, we can all be thankful that she’s receiving punishment for shattering the trust of this community and stealing the resources of the district,” said Ashley Sangster, San Miguel Community Services District Board President.
At the sentencing hearing, Sangster spoke at length of the harm that Johnson had done to the reputation of the district and its employees. During the hearing, Judge Baltodano noted the seriousness of her offense, that it involved sophistication, and that she took advantage of a position of trust and confidence. After Deputy District Attorney Michael Frye urged the Judge to sentence Johnson to at least one year in custody, Judge Hernaldo Baltodano gave a lesser sentence of 180 days noting that she had served in the military, that she was making efforts to pay restitution, and that she had no significant prior criminal history.
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