Last Updated on March 3, 2026 by The HD Post Staff
CALIFORNIA – The U.S. Department of Justice announced March 3 that two former California school officials were sentenced to 30 and 18 months in prison for theft involving federally funded programs.
According to court documents, Jeffrey Menge, 45, of Copperopolis, served as assistant superintendent and chief business officer of the Patterson Joint Unified School District in the Central Valley from 2018 to 2022.
Menge hired Eric Drabert, 46, of Modesto, as the district’s IT director around 2020. They later embezzled money from the school district.
They used CenCal Tech LLC, a Nevada company controlled by Menge, to carry out the scheme. Menge used the company to bypass the district’s conflict-of-interest rules.
To conceal his ownership, he created a fictitious executive, “Frank Barnes,” for CenCal Tech.
Menge and Drabert used CenCal Tech to steal about $1.5 million from the school district. The scheme involved double billing, overbilling, and charging for items never delivered.
Menge used stolen funds to buy luxury cars
According to court documents, Menge and Drabert also stole funds through other methods.
For example, they bought high-end graphics cards and used them with district equipment and electricity to run a cryptocurrency mining operation without permission.
They transferred the mined cryptocurrency to wallets they controlled.
Menge also misused district vehicles, including buying a Chevy truck below market value and reselling it for a profit, and using a Ford Transit van for personal use.
In total, Menge embezzled about $1.5 million and Drabert stole about $276,000 from the district.
Menge used stolen funds to remodel his home and buy luxury cars, including a Ferrari 458, Audi R8, and Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Drabert used stolen funds to remodel his vacation cabin, among other expenses.
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said defendants were entrusted with safeguarding resources meant to educate and support children; instead, they stole $1.5 million for their own benefit.
“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,” Grant said.
