The Los Angeles Probation Department has had its troubles recently, but the arrest of a former Assemblyman and current division chief at the department is another, sizeable shortfall.
The charges against Carl Edward Washington were unrelated to his official duties as the chief of intergovernmental affairs. Instead, the charges of fraud against Washington arose from an alleged scheme to defraud two banks of tens of thousands of dollars by falsely claiming he was the victim of identity theft.
According to the criminal complaint against him, Washington used two bank credit cards or loans to purchase airline tickets, hotel rooms and cash. He then refused to pay back the debts and claimed they were fraudulent charges arising from a identity theft.
After filing police reports and turning them over to the banks, Washington allegedly attempted to open new credit accounts. The total damage to the banks was not specified.
Other arrests have recent plagued the department, including 20 DUI arrests, several cases of theft and fraud, and even one case of a shooting.
Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times.