A San Francisco jail guard convicted of wire and mail fraud will be able to access her pension because her criminal conduct didn’t arise out of her official duties, a California state appeals court ruled Friday.
In an issue of first impression, the California Court of Appeal, First District, rejected the California Public Employees Retirement System’s “expansive view” that it can revoke the pension of any public employee convicted of crimes that are “job related.”
The California legislature amended the Public Employees Pension Reform Act in 2012 to include “conduct arising out of or in the performance of their official duties.”
The jail guard, Deputy Sheriff April Myres, was charged in 2017 by federal prosecutors for mail and wire fraud related to an insurance scheme with an inmate who she had a romantic relationship with. Myres submitted a false insurance claim for a department-issued handgun and radio that she claimed were stolen in a burglary.
After her conviction, Myres petitioned a state trial court to force the California Public Employees Retirement System to allow her to receive her pension. The trial court rejected her petition, citing the retirement agency’s reasoning. The appeals court ruling reversed the lower court.
The appeals court said just because Myres used public resources for her criminal conduct, that isn’t sufficient.
“The Legislature could have drafted the statute to cover conduct ‘arising out of or in the performance of...official duties or involving the use of public resources,’ but did not,” the appeals court said.
The case is Myres v. Board of Administration, CalPERS, Cal. Ct. App., 1st Dist., No. A170516, 12/26/25.
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