SACRAMENTO, Calif — A former California State Controller’s Office employee pleaded guilty to three felony counts of grand theft, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Miguel Espinosa was accused of stealing $300,000 worth of diamonds, which went missing from the state controller’s office mailroom in Sacramento, according to a news release from the DA’s office.
Video surveillance reportedly showed Espinosa move the package of diamonds to a nearby room where there were no video cameras, the release said. He eventually brought the package back to the mailroom, re-taped the package and put it in the mail for delivery, according to law enforcement.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) executed a search warrant at Espinosa’s Sacramento home and found the diamonds, coins and other jewelry, the release said.
CHP and the controller’s office traced the coins and other jewelry to 10 victims. The jewelry had reportedly been stolen over a seven-year span.
Espinosa worked in the controller’s office mailroom in Sacramento for over a decade, according to the DA’s office.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 4 and he will appear before Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Satnam Rattu.
Espinosa is expected to receive three years and four months in incarceration.
