Ex-College Trustee Faces Prison for Fraud

A former Compton College trustee faces a four-year state prison sentence after pleading guilty Friday to fraudulently diverting more than $1 million in public funds to himself and his family members.

As part of a plea deal, Ignacio Pena, 46, can never hold public office in the state of California and must pay $1.12 million in restitution.

Pena was accused of siphoning money from a dummy organization that enrolled members of a community soccer league in sham college courses. Though the program received college funds, classes were never held, according to the charges.

Pena, an elected board member from 1991 to 2003, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 17 by Compton Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter.

The defendant’s wife, Bertha Bayardo Pena, pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft. She agreed to pay $150,000 in fines and perform 300 hours of community service. She was also charged with one count of crime of a public officer.

Prosecutors say she submitted fraudulent invoices for books that were never purchased for the fake courses.

The charges against Pena centered on a group called Familias en Progreso, which had a contract from 1999 to 2002 to help Compton College run a community sports program that provided participants with college credit. The college, in turn, enjoyed increased enrollment and more attendance-based state funding.

Pena and his wife were arrested in August as the school struggled to keep its accreditation and remain open. The 6,600-student campus was taken over by the state last year, and its elected board was stripped of power.

Pena was charged with three counts of felony conflict of interest, three counts of felony crime of a public officer and one count of grand theft, with the special allegation that the crimes exceeded $1 million.