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Santa Barbara County deputy arrested for timecard fraud

January 30, 2026

By KAREN VELIE

A 34-year-old Santa Barbara County deputy was arrested on Thursday for fraud related to his timecards.

Following a criminal investigation that revealed the deputy fraudulently coded more than $175,000 in earnings dating back to 2023 for shifts he did not work, detectives arrested Sergeant Segun Ogunleye. He faces criminal charges of embezzlement of public funds, forgery, and grand theft.

At the time of the alleged misconduct, Ogunleye was a custody sergeant who served in a supervisory role. His responsibilities included reviewing and approving overtime usage,

“This arrest is deeply troubling and disappointing,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. “The theft of public funds is a serious violation of the trust our community places in its peace officers. As a supervisor, this individual was entrusted with ensuring accountability and overseeing the responsible use of taxpayer dollars. Conduct like this not only violates the law, it undermines the integrity of our organization and will not be tolerated.”

Detectives booked Ogunleye in the Ventura County Jail where he is being held on $150,000 bail.

 


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Sadly, there is a real incentive to do this. Consider how the retirement system works: these officers get three percent of their highest salary multiplied by the number of years they worked. They can retire at age 50. Overtime is included here, so working a lot of overtime (or faking it like this guy), especially toward the end of their career, when at their highest salary range, tremendously inflates their retirement. Do the math: with overtime, making $150K, multiplied by 3 percent, multiplied by 25 (years of employment) comes to $112,500 a year in retirement for life, starting at age 50. Many of these retirements are much more than this.


Also, toward retirement some officers call out sick so a prearranged friend can take their shift, getting overtime, and then the first guy returns the favor.


Little wonder he cooked the books!


2

It literally took 2 minutes to research that overtime does not count towards retirement.

This guy was a moron. Do be one also by spreading false information.


1

What a waste of a Great Career! So a couple extra bucks in his paycheck was worth losing a good job? and trust within the community? Was it worth it?


48

It’s like Vegas, so many are doing it and winning he figured the odds were in his favor, heck he had gotten away with it for a short while, but this time he threw the dice and it came up snake eyes. Unlike like Vegas where the house has the edge, here the taxpayers usually lose..


32

lol you consider $175k+ a couple of extra bucks…


13

I believe that all sworn officers should be salaried. This would still include their civil service protection yet allow for less expense termination when needed.


10

I think they work too much overtime for a salary.


0