Donald Atkinson, the former president of the El Dorado County Deputy Sheriff's Association and a retired sergeant, pleaded no contest on felony counts of embezzlement, fraud and perjury, according to Lynda Gledhill, a spokeswoman for the California Office of the Attorney General.
Prosecutors allege Atkinson stole money from the Deputy Sheriff's Association, filed perjured campaign finance reports and stole $100,000 from an elderly woman by securing a loan from her under false pretenses.
As part of a plea agreement, Atkinson will be sentenced to five years in state prison. He will pay $338,348.14 in restitution to the Deputy Sheriff's Association, and he will repay the $100,000 he is accused of stealing from the elderly woman, Gledhill said. In addition, she said, he will direct the California Public Employees' Retirement System to pay $1,000 per month from his retirement account to the victims while he is in prison and on parole.
Atkinson was arrested in March after an investigation by the California Attorney General's Office and the El Dorado District Attorney's Office. He will receive his sentence July 30, Gledhill said.
Editor's note: This story was changed to correct Atkinson's plea.
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