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Feds arrest former Compton deputy treasurer on embezzlement charges
The City of Compton official seal.
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Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
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The former deputy city treasurer for the city of Compton was arrested Wednesday on federal charges that allege he stole more than $3.7 million of city funds, the U.S. Attorney's office announced.
Salvador Galvan, 47, of La Mirada, was taken into custody by FBI agents pursuant to a criminal complaint that charges him with the theft of $3,721,924 from May 2010 through December 2016, the U.S. attorney's office said in a press release.
The release said Galvan worked in the Compton treasurer’s office for more than 20 years and was responsible for tallying the cash received for parking tickets, business licenses and other fees and depositing the money into a city bank acccount.
"According to the criminal complaint filed late [Tuesday] in United States District Court, Galvan skimmed cash from the daily receipts on numerous occasions," the U.S. attorney's release said. "An audit of the city’s cash deposits 'identified discrepancies which vary from approximately $200 to $8,000 per day.'"
The press release further stated:
The FBI interviewed Galvan’s supervisor, who “reflected about Galvan’s time in the office, his unexplained affluence, and his generosity,” according to the affidavit. The supervisor told investigators that Galvan went from driving an “old Toyota” to increasingly luxurious vehicles, including a black Audi sedan. That affidavit states that Galvan told his supervisor that he purchased a residence in La Mirada and demolished the house so he could rebuild it — all on an annual salary of approximately $60,000.
Galvan was arrested late last year by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in relation to the theft of city funds, and the federal case that led to Galvan’s arrest Wednesday resulted from further investigation by the FBI.
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“Defendant Galvan violated the trust of the public he served by stealing money designated for the betterment of the Compton community,” said Deirdre Fike, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “By operating a scheme whereby he skimmed Compton city coffers to live beyond his means, Mr. Galvan faces significant federal charges and time behind bars.”
Galvan was scheduled to appear in United States District Court Wednesday afternoon to face the charges.
If convicted of the embezzlement charge, he would face a sentence of up to five years in federal prison, the U.S. attorney said.
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