Imperial man sentenced for embezzlement scheme
Dillon Fuhrman
IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – An Imperial man has been sentenced for an embezzlement scheme where he was found guilty.
The Imperial Police Department (IPD) conducted an investigation into a grand theft by James Salazar, an Imperial resident, in July of 2024.
Salazar, as a trustee of a family trust, was accused of embezzling around $300,000 “from family members who were entitled to receive equal shares of the inheritance,” according to the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office.
A civil lawsuit was filed by the family, where Salazar was ordered to pay around $797,957, with the amount included “double the damages and attorney’s fees.”
However, after IPD and the D.A.’s Office concluded their investigation, Salazar was criminally charged “with several counts of grand theft and embezzlement,” along with “aggravating factors including committing the crimes with planning and sophistication and taking advantage of a position of trust.”
In May of 2025, Salazar pleaded no contest to all counts of grand theft and “admitted the alleged aggravating factors.”
Salazar was sentenced to four years and four months in the Imperial County Jail last Thursday. He was then remanded to Imperial County Sheriff’s Office’s custody to serve his sentence.
To learn more about this case, read the press release, written in English and Spanish, below.
6.27.25 Salazar Press Release_Download
6.27.25 Salazar Press Release SpanishDownload