Former La Cañada Flintridge City Leader Charged With Stealing $200K

LOS ANGELES, CA —A former La Cañada Flintridge assistant city manager has been charged with stealing nearly $200,000 in proceeds from insurance claims meant for the city coffers but allegedly diverted to his own personal bank account, officials announced Thursday.

Carl F. Alameda, 44, faces 11 felony counts of embezzlement and 23 counts of insurance fraud, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Alameda, who could face up to 33 years in state prison if convicted as charged, pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

He is due back at the downtown Los Angeles criminal courthouse July 23 when a date is scheduled to be set then for a hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to allow the case to proceed to trial.

Between 2016 and 2022, Alameda allegedly sent demand letters to insurance companies using city letterhead requesting reimbursement for accidents or property damage caused by insured drivers in La Cañada Flintridge. He is accused of falsifying invoices and asked for payments to be sent to an address Alameda provided, prosecutors said.

Once insurance companies responded with checks issued to the city and to the defendant's attention, Alameda allegedly deposited those checks into his bank account, totaling $193,086, according to prosecutors.

In a statement released shortly after the charges were announced, the city stated it first learned of the allegations from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department when it launched an investigation triggered by suspicious checks arriving at the county's Public Works Office.

"The suspect was placed on leave and subsequently ended employment with the organization. The city has fully cooperated with the investigation," according to the statement released by the city.

City Manager Dan Jordan added in the statement, "This remains an ongoing investigation, so our comments will be limited to respect the legal and criminal investigation. The city has modified our internal controls to address the scenarios that allowed the alleged financial crimes to take place. Importantly, subsequent audits have thoroughly reviewed our strengthened financial controls."

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement announcing the charges that "it is a major disservice and betrayal of trust when public officials place their own selfish interests over the communities they serve."

"It undermines faith in our government and sends the wrong message to the public that the people who are supposed to be working for you are corrupt and stealing from you," he said. "If you exploit your position for your own greed at the public's expense, my office will file charges and hold you accountable," the district attorney said.

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