The FBI arrested a retired Massachusetts State Police trooper Wednesday for allegedly collecting $14,000 for overtime he didn’t work, becoming the fifth current or former trooper charged in an expanding fraud investigation.
Daren DeJong, 56, of Uxbridge, was led Wednesday afternoon into US District Court in Boston in leg irons and handcuffs for his initial appearance on a charge of embezzlement.
DeJong was released without bail after the brief session, but ordered to avoid any contact with former colleagues in Troop E, the now-disbanded State Police unit linked to a growing overtime scandal. He was also required to turn over all of his firearms.
DeJong’s lawyer, Brad Bailey, told reporters after the court appearance that his client denies the charge.
“He is looking forward to trying this case and at the appropriate time he will be responding to those allegations,’’ Bailey said. “This is an individual who has worked in the public sector as a dedicated police officer and as a trooper for a total of 32 years.’’
DeJong earned $179,000 in 2016, which included $63,000 in overtime — $14,062 for hours he failed to work, according to an FBI affidavit filed in court.
DeJong retired from the police force in March. He started receiving a pension from the state at the end of June, according to the state treasurer’s office. He receives a monthly retirement benefit of $6,251.99, before taxes.
US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said in a release that DeJong “was sworn to uphold the law,’’ yet “betrayed the public trust by embezzling funds from the Massachusetts State Police.’’
Lelling said DeJong’s arrest “is another step in our ongoing effort to root out fraud and ensure that public funds are appropriately used.’’
Former Lieutenant David Wilson, 57, of Charlton, Trooper Gary Herman, 45, of Chester, and former Trooper Paul Cesan, 50, of Southwick were arrested on similar charges earlier this month and another retired trooper, Gregory Raftery, 47, of Westwood has pleaded guilty to embezzlement.
State Police Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin said in a statement the allegations against the troopers contradict “the values and conduct’’ the department and public demand. She said the “overwhelming majority of troopers who do their jobs each day with professionalism, integrity, and courage’’ will help restore the public’s trust in the agency.
“We will continue to hold our members accountable to the law and our own policies,’’ Gilpin said. “We have played a lead role in uncovering overtime fraud within the Department, and we continue to audit overtime earnings and share our findings with state and federal prosecutors.’’
Dozens of current and former Troop E members have been linked to the alleged pay scandal, resulting in a wide-scale audit, a series of internal State Police investigations, the attorney general’s probe, and the disbanding of the unit.
Records show some troopers reported earning five- and six-figure overtime payouts.
The Troop E members were able to work Accident and Injury Reduction Effort, or AIRE, overtime shifts, as well as extra shifts that were part of an “X-Team’’ initiative.
An affidavit filed in the case said DeJong “purposefully’’ did not work the entire overtime shifts he signed up for, regularly leaving hours early.
He altered citations he wrote during regular shifts to make it appear as if they were issued during overtime hours that he in fact didn’t work, and submitted phony citations that were “never issued to motorists and which were never submitted to the RMV,’’ the affidavit said.
In addition, DeJong’s cruiser radio data repeatedly showed that his official vehicle was turned off during entire overtime shifts that he claimed to be working, the affidavit said.
As with the other charged troopers, prosecutors said investigators used a “conservative methodology’’ to estimate the overtime cash that DeJong allegedly stole from his agency.
Andrea Estes, and Kay Lazar of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Shelley Murphy can be reached at shelley.murphy@globe.com.
