Former Assistant Superintendent and Former IT Director of Patterson Joint Unified School District Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Approximately $1.5 Million in Embezzlement Scheme

Jeffrey Menge, 45, of Copperopolis, and Eric Drabert, 46, of Modesto, were sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to 30 months and 18 months in prison, respectively for theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

"These defendants were entrusted with safeguarding resources meant to educate and support children; instead, they stole $1.5 million for their own benefit," said U.S. Attorney Grant. "Today's sentencing affirms that when those in positions of authority abuse the public trust, they will be held accountable. Our office remains committed to protecting taxpayer dollars and ensuring that funds intended for our schools serve the students and communities they were meant to support."

"Jeffrey Menge and Eric Drabert betrayed the students, families, and taxpayers of Patterson by exploiting their positions of trust to steal from a school district. Rather than investing those funds in the children they were hired to serve, they lined their pockets with the money they stole," said FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel. "We are grateful to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office, Stanislaus County District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for their partnership in bringing Menge and Drabert to justice."

According to court documents, from 2018 to 2022, Menge served as the Assistant Superintendent and Chief Business Officer of the Patterson Joint Unified School District. In approximately 2020, Menge hired Drabert to serve as IT Director for the school district. Menge and Drabert conducted schemes to embezzle money from the school district. Among other things, they used CenCal Tech LLC, a Nevada company that Menge controlled, to carry out the scheme. Menge used the company to get around the school's conflicts for being an interested party transacting with the school district. To conceal his ownership of the company, he created a fictitious person, "Frank Barnes," to serve as an executive for CenCal Tech. Menge and Drabert used CenCal Tech to steal approximately $1.5 million in fraudulent transactions with the school district. The transactions involved double billing, over billing, and billing for items not delivered by CenCal Tech to the school district.

According to court documents, Menge and Drabert stole in additional ways as well. For example, they purchased high-end graphics cards and used those cards, together with other school district property and electricity, to operate a cryptocurrency "mining" farm at the school district without its permission. They then transferred the mined cryptocurrency to wallets under their own personal control. Menge also misused vehicles owned by the school district, including buying a Chevy truck at below-market value and selling it for a profit, and using a Ford Transit van as his own personal vehicle.

In total, Menge embezzled approximately $1.5 million and Drabert stole approximately $276,000 from the school district. Menge used stolen funds to remodel his home, to purchase luxury cars, including a Ferrari 458 sportscar, Audi R8, and a Chevrolet Corvette z06, and for other personal uses. Drabert used stolen funds to remodel his vacation cabin, among other uses.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation with assistance from the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation and the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph D. Barton and Cody S. Chapple prosecuted the case.