A former police chief at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk and one of his officers have been charged with felony grand theft, accused of submitting fraudulent timecards to collect pay for work they did not perform, prosecutors announced Wednesday, April 1.
Donald Santarin Salvador, 44, of Lake Forest, and Daniel James Beauregard, 52, of Northridge, are each charged with one count of grand theft, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Salvador, who formerly led the California Department of State Hospitals police department at the Norwalk facility, was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Beauregard is expected to be arraigned at a later date.
Prosecutors allege that between November 2022 and April 2023, the two carried out a coordinated scheme in which Beauregard submitted timecards for hours he did not work as a hospital police officer.
Instead, authorities allege, Beauregard spent much of that time working for a private security consulting company owned by Salvador, Daly Strategic Group LLC.
According to the criminal complaint, Salvador assigned Beauregard to serve as a “special assistant,” a role intended to involve helping with media relations tied to state hospital police operations. However, investigators allege Beauregard produced little substantive work in that role and instead focused on the private business.
During that same period, Beauregard allegedly collected regular and overtime wages from the state for work he did not perform, with Salvador knowingly allowing the arrangement, according to prosecutors.
The alleged scheme resulted in a loss of more than $40,000, according to the district attorney’s office, though the complaint places the total at more than $50,000 in wages and overtime.
If convicted, both men face up to three years in custody.