No jail for Phoenix police cop who double-dipped in 2nd job

PHOENIX (AP) — A Phoenix police officer who worked full time but fraudulently collected pay at second job as an investigator for the state will avoid jail time.

The Office of the Arizona Attorney General announced Friday that 51-year-old Carl Ramirez was sentenced this week to 18 months of probation.

The sentence was part of an agreement that he plead guilty to a felony count each of attempted fraud schemes and practices and of theft. A third charge of computer tampering has been dropped. Ramirez also had to give up his police officer certification and pay more than $7,000 in restitution.

Prosecutors say Ramirez began a new job in March 2020 as a senior investigator for the Arizona Department of Economic Security. However, he returned to duty as a Phoenix police officer five months later but still retained current job.

Investigators say time cards and payroll records show there is no way Ramirez could have worked full-time at both jobs simultaneously. His in-person shifts as an officer overlapped with his teleworking shift. For seven weeks, Ramirez only worked full-time as an officer.

He was indicted in June 2021.