Paul De La Cerda, a former Saugus School Board member and Dean of East Los Angeles College pled no contest to a charge of grand theft on Friday.
De La Cerda was sentenced to two years probation for grand theft as a result of a plea agreement for a lesser charge, the original charges being one felony count each of misappropriation of government funds and embezzlement of government funds, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Ricardo Santiago.
The decision comes after “a very technical case involving forensic accountants,” as stated by David Diamond, De La Cerda’s attorney. On behalf of his client, Diamond shared that De La Cerda wished to avoid jail time and have the case dismissed, a goal acquired by pleading to the lesser charge.
“While it may take longer than he had hoped (two years of probation) both those things will take place,” Diamond said. “It could have taken us the same two years to get to trial and as such, this avoids the costly burden of a trial and stress on his family with the same result.”
In addition to probation, De La Cerda was ordered to pay $1,580.45 in restitution to East Los Angeles College (ELAC)and is prohibited from holding a government job during his probationary period, according to Santiago.
De La Cerda served as ELAC Dean until March 2021, at which time he was dismissed by the Los Angeles Community College District due to being under criminal investigation.
KHTS was subpoenaed in mid-2020, as well as the Hyatt Sacramento, for records relating to inflated financial records De La Cerda filed with East Los Angeles college in connection with the annual KHTS Sacramento Bus trip.
“Paul’s job was to promote education in this state which he has done with excellence,” Diamond said. “In this case, he submitted receipts for reimbursement, sometimes underreporting his out-of-pocket expenses. The person responsible for ensuring the numbers were correct was put on leave.”
Besides his service as a board member for the Saugus Union School district including a term as the Board’s President, De La Cerda now works as the Vice President of Instruction at Cabrillo College.
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He got caught with his slimy hand in the cash box. He deserves jail time and to be barred from any public service for life.