VA Employee Convicted of Stealing $4K in Gas

By Bay City News Service:

A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employee was sentenced Wednesday to six months in jail in Redwood City for stealing more than $4,000 worth of gas from the VA over the past year, San Mateo County prosecutors said Thursday.

Matthew Johnson, 49, pleaded no contest to embezzlement for using a work-issued gas card to fill up his personal vehicle, according to the district attorney’s office.

He initially was caught taking $319 worth of gas between Aug. 2 and Aug. 25, but further investigation indicated that he had used work-issued gas cards to fill up his own car more than 100 times over the last year -- stealing a total of $4,505.

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Karesh sentenced Johnson to six months in jail and three years’ probation. He also must pay the $4,505 in restitution to the VA, prosecutors said.

Johnson remains free on $15,000 bail and will face further proceedings in veterans’ court, prosecutors said.

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