For the second time in 10 years, the union representing most Riverside police officers says, their office manager has ripped them off.
Beatriz Margarita Putnam is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 27 on one count of grand theft after a Riverside police detective said she stole more than $80,000 from the Riverside Police Officers’ Association from 2021 to 2024.
The accusation comes 10 years after office manager Alis Archibeque admitted she stole more than $330,000 and used it for personal expenses such as her husband’s child support, tattoos and a trip to Italy. Her plea agreement called for a sentence of three years and four months in state prison and restitution of $337,017.07.
In Putnam’s case, a sworn affidavit written by economic crimes Detective Brian Money to a judge to obtain a search warrant said she fraudulently transferred $59,070 from the union’s bank account to pay off her credit card from February 2021 until the discovery of the alleged theft on Aug. 26, 2024.
Money examined Putnam’s bank records and said he found checks drawn on the union’s account totaling $24,351 that were deposited in Putnam’s account via mobile deposit, according to the affidavit, which was filed in Superior Court in Riverside in June. There were no descriptions of the purpose of the checks on the memo lines.
Putnam could not be located for comment on the allegations. Former relatives contacted said they weren’t sure how to reach her. Court records do not list an attorney who could speak on her behalf.
Money declined to comment on the case.
The union represents Riverside Police Department employees with the rank of officer up through sergeant. The losses did not involve any public money or the Police Department, which is separate from the officers’ union. Putnam was not an employee of the Police Department.
“When the Riverside Police Officers’ Association became aware of a potential misappropriation of Association funds by an employee, the discovery was immediately reported to the Riverside Police Department for a criminal investigation,” union President Dave Riedeman said in a written statement. “The RPOA has been made aware that charges have now been filed by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office against the former employee. As an Association, we have full faith in the judicial process and will utilize any means necessary to recover any money owed to the RPOA.”
After the 2015 theft, the union required three people to sign all checks. Also, an accounting firm began performing quarterly audits and reconciling the books monthly. Duplicate bills were sent to accountants and the office manager was no longer issued a credit card.
Riedeman did not respond to additional questions, including how new policies implemented after the theft by Archibeque could have been circumvented and what the union is now doing to prevent another theft.
The police union, Money said after the 2015 theft, is no different from any other small organization in its susceptibility to internal theft. Often, those who handle the books are trusted employees who, because the organization lacks resources, are not closely monitored.
According to the affidavit, the union kept Putnam on as officer manager until March 2025, seven months after the loss was reported to police.
“(I) asked the RPOA president why he continued to keep Putnam employed after the alleged theft discovery,” Money wrote, “and he said he needed her to help train a replacement.”
Originally Published:
