Cop Accused of Workers’ Comp Fraud

Jacob Finerty, a Santa Barbara police officer since September 2011, was charged May 24 with four felonies linked to false workers’ compensation claims made between June 2013 and February 2014. Santa Barbara police detectives began investigating the alleged insurance crimes back in 2014, according to a District Attorney’s Office statement.

Of the four charges Finerty faces, two allege he made false written statements related to a workers’ compensation injury; two allege false oral statements. Deputy District Attorney Gary Gemberling is prosecuting the case. It’s not yet known who will represent Finerty, whose arraignment is scheduled for June 24. He wasn’t booked into County Jail, said Gemberling.

Finerty, of Hesperia, has been on paid administrative leave for an injury since the criminal investigation began two years ago and on unpaid leave since the complaint’s filing, according to interim Police Chief John Crombach. Of the city police detectives tasked with investigating one of their own Crombach said, “We’re duty-bound…These people are professionals who aren’t going to be swayed.” Of the case, he added, “No one’s above the law, and we have confidence in the criminal justice system.”