Two men who worked for Cal State Long Beach’s Athletics Department pleaded no contest Thursday to a grand theft charge in connection with allegations involving fraudulent time sheets certifying hundreds of hours of non-existent work.
Oscar Perez Almanza, now 40, and Hender Noe Maxwell, now 39, each paid more than $18,000 in restitution in connection with the plea to the misdemeanor count, along with being sentenced to 240 hours of community service and one year on probation, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
From January to December 2022, Almanza worked as a field supervisor and Maxwell was a former grounds worker in the school’s athletics department, according to the District Attorney’s Office. After Maxwell left the university’s employment, he allegedly submitted time sheets falsely certifying hundreds of hours worked for approximately $36,560, which Almanza allegedly approved despite knowing Maxwell no longer worked for the athletics department, the District Attorney’s Office said shortly after the case was filed last year.
Once the university paid Maxwell, he allegedly split the money with Almanza, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The two were charged last year with one felony count each of grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft.
“Stealing from California’s venerated public university system steals from taxpayers and the thousands of students who rely on the university for affordable tuition and educational and career opportunities,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a March 2025 statement announcing the case.