BOSTON, MA — Another retired Massachusetts State Police Trooper was arrested and charged Wednesday morning in connection with abusing overtime pay and stealing government funds at the Massachusetts State Police. He is the fifth State Trooper to be arrested in the scandal.

Daren DeJong, 57, of Uxbridge, was charged with embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds. DeJong is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Boston Wednesday. "Mr. DeJong, who was sworn to uphold the law, betrayed the public trust by embezzling funds from the Massachusetts State Police," said United State Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Andrew E. Lelling.

DeJong was assigned to Troop E, which is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic regulations along the Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate I-90. He allegedly received overtime pay for hours that he either did not actually work at all, or shifts in which he departed one to seven hours early, according to court documents. The alleged conduct involves overtime pay for selective enforcement initiatives, including the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program and the "X-Team" initiative. Both initiatives are intended to reduce accidents, crashes, and injuries on I-90 through an enhanced presence of MSP Troopers and targeting vehicles traveling at excessive speeds.

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. DeJong allegedly concealed the fraud by submitting citations that were issued prior to the overtime shift, altered the citations to create the appearance that citations were issued during the overtime shift, and/or submitted citations that were never issued and never took place.

Trooper DeJong earned $179,000 in 2016, which included approximately $63,000 in overtime, of which $14,062 was attributable to AIRE and X-Team shifts that DeJong either left early or did not show up for.

In 2015 and 2016, MSP received annual benefits from the U.S. Department of Transportation in excess of $10,000, which were funded pursuant to numerous federal grants.