‘Don’t tell a soul’: East Contra Costa cops tried to keep alleged fraud scheme a secret, but upcoming trial will bring details to light
New documents released by federal prosecutors show how Antioch and Pittsburg cops were well-aware that their alleged college degree scheme could get them fired or worse, warning one co-conspirator "don't tell a soul," while another warned of including a "loudmouth" cop into the scheme.
OAKLAND — As they schemed to fraudulently obtain college degrees for pay bumps and tuition reimbursements, East Contra Costa officers acknowledged their dealings could get them fired or worse. They stressed about the need to keep secrets, to not get a “loudmouth” officer involved and limit how many how many others partook, according to court recently filed court papers.
The new records in the sprawling law enforcement corruption case also uncover alleged text messages by one ex-Antioch officer in particular, Morteza Amiri, where he references helping another unnamed officer “clean up the crime scene” after he was “involved in an off-duty shooting.” Prosecutors want the messages recounted before a jury to show Amiri’s tendency toward dishonesty, according to court records.
On Aug. 5, Amiri and co-defendant Amanda Theodosy-Nash are set to go on trial facing charges of conspiracy and wire fraud. The two were part of an indictment originally charging six ex-Antioch and Pittsburg cops, but four of their co-defendants have pleaded guilty, including the alleged ringleader of the scheme. Amiri also faces charges of committing civil rights violations and assaults.
A total of 14 Antioch and Pittsburg officers were charged last August in a set of sweeping federal and state cases alleging offenses ranging from steroid possession and distribution, accepting tequila as bribes to make traffic tickets go away, cheating on college courses and violations of civil rights by plotting violence against specific residents.
Attorneys for Amiri and Theodosy-Nash haven’t put their cards on the table in court filing so it is unknown what sort of defense will be used during the trial. But each defense team will be given 20 minutes to make their case to the jury at the trial’s start, while prosecutors will have 30 minutes for their opening statement, records show.
Recently filed documents shed new light on the alleged college-degree scheme, the flippancy of its participants who complained of “b—-” teachers and procedures for taking online classes at California Coast University and their discussions acknowledging that what they were doing was wrong.
The scheme was hatched by ex-Pittsburg Officer Patrick Berhan — who is among the four to enter guilty pleas and is still awaiting sentencing — and his then-romantic partner, who prosecutors now describe as his ex-wife. The woman was not charged and is cooperating with police, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
Prosecutors contend that Berhan complained to his ex — who is identified only as “Individual 1” in court papers — that she “was not financially pulling her weight in their relationship and that she needed to take California Coast University courses for him so that they could buy a house and get married.” The filings say Berhan hoped to make an extra $1,000 or more per month in incentive pay offered to police officers who obtain college degrees, along with tuition reimbursements.
As Individual 1 took classes for Berhan at the private for-profit online university based in Santa Ana, she became skilled at test taking and essay-writing, records say. Prosecutors allege the scheme blossomed from there. Soon, she was obtaining criminal justice degrees for others, including Amiri, Antioch Community Service Officer Samantha Peterson and former Pittsburg officers Brauli Rodriguez-Jalapa, Ernesto Mejia-Orozco and Theodosy-Nash, according to court records.
Under their police union contracts, Antioch and Pittsburg officers received a 5 percent raise for obtaining bachelor’s degree. Berhan and Mejia-Orozco later returned $25,000 and $9,459 respectively upon their resignations, according to city records.
All received fraudulent degrees except for Rodriguez-Jalapa, whose credits fell short, prosecutors allege. Still, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud in late June, records show. His sentencing date has been set for Oct. 22 and he still faces drunk driving charges for an incident in Clayton that occurred while the fraud case was still pending.
Prosecutors say Individual 1 charged $200 to $300 per class and once texted Amiri, “Where my money h– lol” after successful completion of a course in his name. They figured out how to circumvent a CCU procedure to weed out cheating, which required participants to enter a code that was emailed to them, prosecutors allege.
Amiri at one point apparently became nervous that he would face repercussions, and warned the woman not to talk, prosecutors allege.
“Do me a solid and don’t tell a soul about me hiring you for this,” Amiri allegedly texted the woman. “We can’t afford it getting leaked and me losing my job etc.”
“I know lol I’m not dumb I haven’t told anyone,” she allegedly replied.
Amiri, who was also caught in a massive racist texting scandal involving Antioch cops, used racial slurs three times in the texts released by prosecutors.
At one point, Berhan became nervous at just how many other officers had expressed interest in joining the scheme, warning his significant other not to trust a Pittsburg officer who was a “loudmouth,” according to the records. At another point, Amiri said that his “sergeant” would be interested in hiring her but it appears that never came to fruition, the records say.
Amiri’s text to others include an admission that he helped “clean up the crime scene” for an officer who was “involved in an off-duty shooting.” Federal and state authorities investigated this and learned that the other officer had left his gun lying around his home, and that his child had fired a shot into the wall of their home. The officer called Amiri, who allegedly patched up the wall and warned the officer not to tell his wife, according to law enforcement sources.
In another text exchange, Mejia-Orozco complained to Berhan that a professor at CCU is a “f—ing b—-” and keeps failing him for “stupid a– s—”
“Feel bad that your chick has to keep redoing them,” he allegedly told Berhan.
“Lol it’s all good some of the teacher are b—–s she’s use (sic) to it,” Berhan allegedly replied.