A former employee of the California Public Employee’s Retirement System (CALPERS) who stole nearly $700,000 in retirement funds was sentenced to 6 years in prison, Attorney General Rob Bonta's office announced.
Najera-Villanueva, who worked as a senior analyst with CalPERS, stole retirement funds from 10 former State of California employees. She was sentenced to six years in prison and was ordered to pay full restitution to the victims.
“Abusing the trust of elders to steal their hard-earned retirement money is despicable,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Rather than serving the public, Gloria Najera-Villanueva abused her position of trust to steal from vulnerable retirees. Now, justice has been served: Our DOJ team and law enforcement partners worked hard to hold Ms. Najera-Villanueva to account, and secure restitution for those she wronged.”
According to Bonta’s office, Villanueva targeted victims between September 2017 and January 2021 by illegally accessing their banking informaiton. She used a total of $689,465.36 of their money to pay her credit card bills.
Officials said she also manipulated accounts so that retirees’ deposits would be directed to her personal bank accounts.
According to Bonta, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Law Division carried out the prosecution after a joint investigation by the CalPERS Investigation Unit, the California Highway Patrol, and the DOJ's Division of Law Enforcement.
