Brickbat: Checks in the Mail

Deputy Trevor Walker of the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Department in New Mexico faces charges of embezzlement and fraud after investigators discovered he deposited checks meant for his former employer into his personal account. Walker worked for the Aztec Police Department between September 2022 and August 2023. He received a $17,000 retention bonus that required him to stay for a full year, but he left early and joined the Rio Arriba Sheriff’s Office in October 2023. The city of Aztec sued him to recover the bonus, and a judge ordered his wages garnished from his new salary to repay the debt. Due to a clerical error, seven checks totaling nearly $5,300 went to Walker’s home instead of Aztec; he signed and cashed them despite not being the payee. New Mexico State Police also found that Walker claimed unworked overtime hours at the sheriff’s office.