Sheriff’s official stole from grandma to dine out and go clubbing in Vegas, feds say
A sheriff’s department worker in California spent thousands of dollars at restaurants, bars, a Las Vegas club and elsewhere on her grandmother’s dime — but without her grandmother’s permission, federal prosecutors said.
Roxana C. Laub, 33, of Santa Ana, an employee of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, is accused of forging checks totaling about $45,000 and racking up thousands in charges on her grandmother’s credit card.
She pleaded guilty Nov. 20 in federal court to one count of bank fraud and one count of identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California wrote in a news release.
Her attorney didn’t immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Laub is on administrative leave from the sheriff’s department, where her employment included time as a correctional officer at the jail, prosecutors said.
Laub admitted to forging her grandmother’s signature on more than 20 checks between December 2015 and January 2017, prosecutors said. She’s accused of making the checks payable to herself and depositing them in her own account.
Her 75-year-old grandmother didn’t know or consent, prosecutors said.
Laub also is accused of using her grandmother’s credit card to rack up thousands in charges from March 2020 to September 2022, including on meals, at bars and at a Las Vegas nightclub. “Laub then used another one of her grandmother’s bank accounts to make more than $14,000 in payments for bills Laub had run up on those cards, again without her grandmother’s knowledge or permission,” prosecutors said in the release.
In one instance, Laub posed as her grandmother on a call to her grandmother’s bank, asking for account information, prosecutors said. Laub eventually admitted that she was calling and not her grandmother, and her grandmother told the bank that she didn’t know about any checks that were payable to Laub, prosecutors said.
“After Laub took the phone back and tried to change the subject, the bank personnel asked to speak to Laub’s grandmother again, but Laub then claimed that her grandmother was feeling ill and not available,” prosecutors said.
When Laub was confronted by her aunt, she apologized by text and called her actions “unforgivable,” according to court documents.
She also promised to get a loan and pay back the money, “however, to date, (Laub) has failed to make full repayment” the court documents said.
She has agreed to repay her grandmother, prosecutors said.
She’s scheduled to be sentenced April 9 and faces up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud and up to 15 years for identity theft, prosecutors said.
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Sheriff’s official stole from grandma to dine out and go clubbing in Vegas, feds say."
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