OAKLAND — Jurors will hear evidence this week of an alleged college degree scam hatched within the ranks of two East Contra Costa police departments, and centered on the ex-wife of a former Pittsburg officer who is now a star witness for the government.
Last year, six former Antioch and Pittsburg police officers were charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud by arranging for another person to take online courses for them so they could get incentive pay raises both cities offered for employees who obtain bachelor’s degrees. Since then, five of the six have entered guilty pleas and have either been sentenced or are awaiting it.
That leaves just Morteza Amiri, a former Antioch K9 officer whose trial began Monday with an overview of the expected evidence by both his attorneys and federal prosecutors. Amiri faces two felony counts, but this case is far from his biggest legal problem: he faces pending charges alleging that he ordered his police dog to bite people for sport as part of a conspiracy with two former colleagues to violate civil rights of residents.
At the start of Amiri’s trial Monday morning, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Cheng told jurors that they would “follow the money” through Venmo payments to an Oakley woman who was once married to ex-Pittsburg Officer Patrick Berhan. After Berhan came clean about infidelity in their relationship, she came forward to the FBI, Amiri’s lawyer told jurors on Monday.
Cheng described it as an open-and-shut case, saying the government had literal receipts, as well as text messages from Amiri’s phone, and a paper trail showing he purported to have obtained a college degree. Amiri and his colleagues chose California Coast University, an online school that allowed a fairly streamlined process for obtaining a bachelor’s degree and even allowed credits from the police academy to transfer over, according to prosecution witnesses.
The messages, which include Amiri telling the woman “don’t tell a soul” and acknowledging he could lose his job over the scam, amount to Amiri “in his own words describing exactly what he did,” Cheng.
Amiri’s lawyer, Timothy Crudo, urged jurors to “keep an open mind” and reminded the jury that the government must prove Amiri had a “specific intent to deceive and defraud.” Otherwise, he said, their case falls apart.
“You’re not gonna hear credible evidence that there was an overall agreement among all of these people,” Crudo said.
The government’s first witness, retired Antioch police Capt. Trevor Schnitzius, testified that Amiri did receive a pay raise after bringing forth paperwork showing he had a bachelor’s degree from CCU. The idea behind the incentive program was that, “a well educated cop is a better cop,” he said.
“Would the city have paid this incentive if the officer had not actually earned the degree?” Cheng asked.
“No,” Schnitzius replied.
Before the day’s end, Berhan’s ex-wife took the stand, testifying that she, Berhan and Amiri all lived together and that another ex-officer who is facing charges in a separate case — Timothy Manly — talked about the education incentive program. She said Berhan pressured her to “pull my weight” financially and that for much of their relationship he was in total control of her finances. She would have to ask Berhan or her mother for money to go out on excursions, the woman testified.
Berhan pleaded guilty in March to felony conspiracy to commit wire fraud, felony wire fraud and felony possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 2.
Cheng asked her toward the end of Monday’s hearing how close she and Amiri were back when they shared a home.
“He was almost like family, almost like an older brother,” she said.
The trial continues Tuesday morning.
