A 34-year-old Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office custody sergeant was arrested Thursday on a felony warrant for alleged timecard fraud of more than $175,000, spokeswoman Raquel Zick said.

The employee, Segun Ogunleye, is on administrative leave, according to Zick.

The Sheriff’s Office began investigating in October after identifying “irregularities in Ogunleye’s timecards spanning several months,” she said. 

Detectives allege that Ogunleye — who reviewed and approved overtime in his capacity as a custody sergeant — “fraudulently coded more than $175,000 in earnings dating back to 2023 for shifts he did not work,” Zick said.

He was booked on suspicion of grand theft, forgery, embezzlement of public funds and a white-collar crime enhancement. Deputies took Ogunleye into custody at his Ventura home, and he was booked into the Ventura County Jail, Zick said.

Zick said no other suspects were connected to this case, “nor any evidence of similar fraudulent activity by any other employees.” 

In a statement, Sheriff Bill Brown called the theft “deeply troubling and disappointing” and said it was “a serious violation of the trust our community places in its peace officers.” 

“As a supervisor, this individual was entrusted with ensuring accountability and overseeing the responsible use of taxpayer dollars. Conduct like this not only violates the law, it undermines the integrity of our organization and will not be tolerated,” Brown said.

The criminal investigation is ongoing, and there is also an administrative investigation, Zick said.

These allegations come at a time when the Board of Supervisors has called Sheriff’s Office overtime costs “alarming” and “concerning.”

The Sheriff’s Office regularly goes millions of dollars over budget with overtime costs, and the Board of Supervisors typically approves general fund money to fill the gap. In September, the board asked for an analysis of overtime practices, after the office went $4.2 million over budget the previous year.

The Auditor-Controller’s Office submitted a memo in December that dug into the ongoing issue. It analyzed 19,355 timesheets submitted by 824 employees for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The observations include: Some staff earn more in overtime pay than regular pay; there are no limits on employee work time; and mandatory overtime shifts are generally longer than regular work shifts. 

Supervisors planned to hold a hearing in 2026 to further discuss the issue.