Former California State Controller Office Employee Pleads to Grand Theft
DATE: February 27, 2024
CASE: Miguel Espinosa (Case #23FE005339)
PROSECUTOR: Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Johnson, Special Investigations Unit
Former California State Controller Office employee Miguel Espinosa pled guilty to three felony counts of grand theft.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) opened an investigation when $300,000 worth of diamonds went missing from the State Controller’s Office mailroom in Sacramento. Internal video surveillance showed Espinosa move the package of diamonds to a nearby room where there were no video cameras. Espinosa eventually brought the package back to the mail room, re-taped the package, and put it in the mail for delivery. CHP executed a search warrant at Espinosa’s Sacramento residence and found the diamonds along with coins and other jewelry. CHP and the State Controller’s Office traced the coins and other jewelry to 10 victims. The jewelry had been stolen over a seven-year time span. Miguel Espinosa worked in the State Controller’s Office mailroom in Sacramento for over a decade.
Espinosa will be sentenced to 3 years and 4 months. Sentencing is set for April 4, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. in Department 63 before the Honorable Satnam Rattu.
