Photo: Jennifer Chang
SANTA CLARA COUNTY – The SCCSO arrested a retired employee with the City of Cupertino
The arrest stems from a city audit that detected embezzlement of city funds of more than $791,494. The crimes continued over a period of 18 years.
On September 5, 2018, the City of Cupertino requested the arrest of 66-year-old Jennifer Chang after discovering more than 68 fraudulent charges. Chang made these in order to pay herself exorbitant amounts of money for credit cards, vacations, cars, jewelry, and clothing.
According to Santa Clara County Sherriff’s Sgt. Richard Glennon, the investigation began in April of 2018. He said, “The City of Cupertino contacted the SCCSO regarding a potential embezzlement case involving Chang, a retired employee.”
As a result, Chang faces sixty-eight felony counts of Embezzlement, Grand Theft, and Unauthorized Computer Access/Fraud.
“A detailed review of documents by investigators and the city’s finance employees revealed a sophisticated scheme. (In this), Chang was able to draft checks to several fictitious vendors created by Chang herself,” Glennon said.
Chang allegedly used city funds to embellish her lifestyle. She paid fictitious business’s that were set up through online accounts. She set these up through her role as a financial accountant for the City of Cupertino. Chang worked for the city beginning at the start of 1997. She had since retired in 2015 after working 18 years in the city’s finance office.
Finally, Chang has a $3,000,000 bail.
