A Ferrari and a vacation home renovation were just some of the things that two men bought with funds linked to theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced Thursday that Jeffrey Menge, 43, and Eric Drabert, 44, pleaded guilty to the theft. They are expected to be sentenced in May by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley and each face a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Per the DOJ, Menge began serving as assistant superintendent of Patterson Joint Unified School District in 2018. It is located in Patterson, Calif. – around 87 miles southeast of San Francisco, Calif. – and it serves approximately 6,177 students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
In 2020, Menge hired Drabert to serve as the school district’s IT director. Menge also controlled a Nevada-based company called CenCal Tech LLC, which the two men used to conduct schemes to embezzle money from the school district.
“Menge was limited in his ability to conduct interested party transactions with the school district, so he created a fictitious person, ‘Frank Barnes,’ to serve as an executive for CenCal Tech,” said the DOJ. A LinkedIn profile for a “Frank Barnes” at CenCal Tech of Reno, Nev. Had 328 followers as of Friday – it is not clear if this is the same fictitious Frank Barnes mentioned by the DOJ.
Through CenCal Tech, Menge and Barnes allegedly conducted more than $1.2 million in fraudulent transitions with Patterson Joint Unified.
“The transactions involved double billing, over billing, and billing for items not delivered by CenCal Tech to the school district,” the DOJ explained. Court documents also demonstrated other ways in which the men stole from the district. These included the operation of a cryptocurrency “mining” farm at the school district. Mined cryptocurrency was transferred to wallets under the personal control of Menge and Drabert.
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Additionally, Menge misused district vehicles, using a Ford Transit van as his personal vehicle while purchasing a Ferrari sports car and remodeling his home with the stolen funds. Drabert allegedly used stolen funds to remodel his vacation cabin.
“In total, Menge embezzled between $1 million and $1.5 million and Drabert stole between $250,000 and $300,000,” the DOJ said. Investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation researched the case along with the Stanislaus County District Attorney Bureau of Investigation and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.
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