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Ex-law firm CFO, ex-president of LGBTQ chamber of commerce pleads guilty to embezzling $1.3M

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RECORD

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Ex-law firm CFO, ex-president of LGBTQ chamber of commerce pleads guilty to embezzling $1.3M

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Phillip Burton Federal Building and Courthouse, home of the U.S. District Court for the Northern DIstrict of California, San Francisco | Sam Wheeler, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The former chief financial officer for two law firms, who also served as president of the Bay Area's most prominent LGBTQ chamber of commerce, has pleaded guilty to federal charges of bank fraud and money laundering for allegedly embezzling more than $1.3 million from his former law firm employers.

Tony Archuleta-Perkins, 48, of Palm Springs and formerly of San Francisco, entered the guilty pleas under an agreement with prosecutors, according to an announcement from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.

According to the statement announcing the guilty plea, the Department of Justice said Archuleta-Perkins abused his position at the law firms, using his access to the firms' payroll systems and end-to-end payments automation platforms to steer money from the firms to "a non-profit organization he had set up and solely controlled."

That organization was known as "Murrieta Valley High School 1994," and was created in 2013.

According to the indictment issued earlier this year, Archuleta-Perkins embezzled money into the MVHS 1994 entity from 2018-2023.

According to the indictment, Archuleta-Perkins would "sometimes directly issue payments" from the MVHS 1994 accounts "to vendors and accounts for personal expenses that had nothing to do with the stated purpses of MVHS 1994 or the law firms.

"On other occasions, he wrote checks from MVHS 1994 to himself and deposited those checks into his personal bank account."

According to the indictment, Archuleta-Perkins "used the stolen money for personal expenses, including payments on Best Buy and Home Depot credit cards, and towards the purchase, renovation, and improvement of at least three properties in California."

According to prosecutors, Archuleta-Perkins also allegedly "embezzled funds from the law firms by falsely adding 'one-time reimbursements' to his regular paychecks or special bonus payroll checks through the use of the law firms’ payroll software."

Archuleta-Perkins was charged with eight counts of bank fraud and five counts of money laundering.

He was arrested in June by the FBI and was released on $500,000 bond.

Under the plea agreement, Archuleta-Perkins admitted to being responsible for embezzling at least $1.3 million.

He faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison on the bank fraud charge and 10 years for money laundering. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley will determine the sentence at a hearing scheduled for March 26.

U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey led the prosecution. Archuleta-Perkins was arrested as a result of an investigation by the FBI, which was led by Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikhil Bhagat handled the prosecution in court.

The Department of Justice did not publicly identify the law firms for which Archuleta-Perkins worked.

However, in January 2024, The Veen Firm, of San Francisco, filed suit in San Francisco County Superior Court against Archuleta-Perkins and his spouse, Timothy Archuleta-Perkins, accusing the couple of embezzling $1.1 million from the firm.

In that lawsuit, The Veen Firm accused Archuleta-Perkins of using the money to purchase and remodel two homes in San Francisco.

According to court documents, that lawsuit remains stayed pending resolution of the criminal charges against Archuleta-Perkins.

According to a story published by the LGBTQ Nation publication, the Golden Gate Business Association announced in July at the time of Archuleta-Perkins' arrest that they were conducting a full audit and investigation of the GGBA's finances during the time Archuleta-Perkins served with the organization.

He had volunteered for the GGBA for years, and was elected president of that chamber of commerce in 2022. 

Archuleta-Perkins resigned at the time of his indictment, according to published reports.

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