A fifth Massachusetts State Police trooper has been arrested for collecting overtime pay for shifts he either did not work or left early, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced Wednesday.

Retired trooper Daren DeJong, 56, of Uxbridge, was charged with embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds after he allegedly received $14,062 in overtime pay in 2016 for absent or incomplete work shifts, according a press release.

His arrest follows the arrests of former Lt. David Wilson, trooper Gary Herman, and former trooper Paul Cesan for the same crime late last month and comes weeks after a fourth, former trooper Gregory Raftery, pleaded guilty.


“Mr. DeJong, who was sworn to uphold the law, betrayed the public trust by embezzling funds from the Massachusetts State Police,” Andrew Lelling, U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said in a statement. “Today’s arrest is another step in our ongoing effort to root out fraud and ensure that public funds are appropriately used.”

As a state trooper, DeJong was assigned to Troop E, the release said. The barracks, which monitors motorists on the Mass. Pike, has been at the center of the overtime pay scandal. The state announced in May that Troop E would be eliminated.

In 2016, DeJong earned $179,000, of which about $63,000 was from overtime pay that included the $14,062 from shifts he either did not work or left early in the state police’s “Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program” and the “X-Team initiative,” according to the release.

“Both initiatives are intended to reduce accidents, crashes, and injuries on I-90 through an enhanced presence of (state police) troopers and targeting vehicles traveling at excessive speeds,” the release said. “DeJong was required to work the entire duration of the shifts – either four or eight hours – and truthfully report the date, time, and sector of deployment on the citations issued during the shift.”


Instead, authorities allege, DeJong turned in citations he issued before he worked overtime and altered them to make them look as if he issued them while he worked the shifts.

DeJong, who is accused of leaving some shifts between one and seven hours early, also submitted citations that he never issued and did not take place, according to the release.

“As alleged, Mr. DeJong abused his position and betrayed the public’s trust by stealing thousands of dollars from overtime shifts he did not work,” Harold Shaw, special agent in charge for the FBI’s Boston Division, said in a statement. “Instead of enforcing the rules of the road and cracking down on aggressive drivers, he selfishly lined his pockets with paychecks from bogus shifts at the expense of hard-working taxpayers.”

Authorities said the charge against DeJong carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years with three years of supervised probation, and “a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss.”

DeJong was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Boston Wednesday afternoon.