Court decision on diversion for ex-UC Davis fire chief accused of embezzlement
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- Former UC Davis fire chief Nathan Trauernicht faces a felony embezzlement charge.
- He is accused of approving $42,000 in unearned overtime pay for his assistant.
- A judge on Monday denied Trauernicht’s request for a mental heath diversion program.
A Yolo Superior Court judge on Monday afternoon rejected a request for a mental health diversion program for former UC Davis Fire Chief Nathan Jon Trauernicht, who is charged with embezzlement.
Trauernicht, who allegedly approved numerous fraudulent paychecks for his female assistant, asked the court for the diversion program that could result in the dismissal of his felony charge for the alleged crime.
Last year, a Yolo County criminal grand jury indicted Trauernicht on a charge of misappropriating public funds while working for the University of California, Davis. He resigned from his campus job two months before he was indicted. He has pleaded not guilty to that charge.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office filed a felony charge of misappropriating public money against Meagan Emily McFadden, who worked for Trauernicht as an executive assistant for more than four years before she left her job at UC Davis in January 2024.
McFadden, 35, faces an additional charge of perjury. In the filed criminal complaint against McFadden, prosecutors alleged she took an oath to testify truthfully for the grand jury and provided statements she “knew to be false.” She has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.
At Monday’s hearing, Judge Paul Richardson said the evidence presented showed that Trauernicht on 20 different occasions approved timesheets that included a total of $42,000 in unearned overtime pay for McFadden. Richardson said the prosecution alleges that Trauernicht had “perhaps an inappropriate interest” in this subordinate female employee.
Trauernicht, 46, was the UC Davis fire chief for nearly 13 years before he resigned eight months after McFadden left the Fire Department. Trauernicht and his attorney, Steven Plesser, were not in court Monday. They attended the hearing via an online video teleconferencing call.
Ex-fire chief accused of ‘creepy behavior’
Deputy District Attorney Frits Van der Hoek has told the judge that the defendant displayed “creepy behavior” in the workplace and approved numerous fraudulent paychecks for McFadden, an employee with whom he was seeking a romantic relationship.
The prosecutor said Trauernicht, when he failed to form a romantic relationship with McFadden, formed a romantic relationship with another female subordinate. Van der Hoek told the judge that relationship was ultimately exposed, and a search of his phone revealed Trauernicht’s sexual behavior with the other female employee at the fire station.
The defense attorney has argued that the prosecutor was presenting his theory of a perceived motive behind the alleged embezzlement, which is largely based on testimony from McFadden, even though she is accused of perjury.
The defense attorney has told the judge that his client has no previous criminal history and has led a life of community service. Plesser said Trauernicht suffered from multiple diagnosed disorders that contributed to the alleged offense, including post-traumatic stress disorder that went “largely unrecognized and untreated” until last year.
“I believe he’s exactly who this (California) Legislature intended the (diversion program) for,” Plesser said in an Oct. 2 hearing. “With no threat of violence or danger to the community, someone with an ability to follow rules, a willingness to follow rules. And the state Legislature stated they have a strong preference for treatment of mental health disorders because of the benefits of such treatment.”
‘Lapse after lapse after lapse’
The prosecutor has argued that Trauernicht, who received outstanding performance evaluations at work, is claiming to suffer from PTSD and anxiety disorder that caused him to have a lapse in his duties while on the job.
“When I say a lapse, it’s lapse after lapse after lapse for a period of years,” Van der Hoek said in last month’s hearing. “It’s not as if there’s a momentary distraction... This is paycheck after paycheck for well over a year, close to two years, of false payments that he’s authorizing to go to Ms. McFadden.”
The prosecutor said there’s evidence of Trauernicht’s “creepy behavior” toward McFadden in text messages she sent to her friends describing his behavior.
Plesser filed a motion that asks the court to place Trauernicht in a mental health diversion program. If the judge grants the motion, Trauernicht would be ordered to receive mental health treatment.
The judge would then schedule court dates to track Trauernicht’s progress in treatment. If Trauernicht “performs satisfactorily in diversion,” the judge would dismiss the defendant’s charges, according to California law. Since Trauernicht faces a felony charge, he would have two years to complete the program.
On Monday, Richardson said Trauernicht is someone who is “eligible” for the diversion program, but he is “not a suitable candidate.” The judge said the defense argues that Trauernicht’s mental health disorder led to his “inattention” in his supervision of McFadden’s timesheets.
But the prosecution presented evidence that Trauernicht had “exceptional” job performance reviews at this time, Richardson said, and there are five areas on each of McFadden’s timesheet where he would’ve spotted the significantly increased amount of hours worked.
“It’s very clear on the sheet itself,” the judge said. “It’s hard to miss what is stated on those timesheets.”
McFadden, who had a 40-hour work week as one of Trauernicht’s two assistants, submitted timesheets that would typically claim she worked 20 hours on Thursday of the first week in the pay period and 20 hours on Tuesday of the second week, the judge said. Every other day on McFadden’s timesheet only claimed she worked eight hours.
Richardson said the prosecution also alleges that Trauernicht also told McFadden during a dinner that he thought she deserved more pay and later approached UC Davis administration about the possibility of her getting a higher-level job on campus.
The judge’s decision to deny Trauernicht’s request means the criminal case moves toward scheduling his trial. The grand jury indictment means the former fire chief’s criminal case skips the preliminary hearing phase and moves directly to trial.
Richardson scheduled the case to return to court Dec. 22 to determine when they can schedule Trauernicht’s trial.
Assistant’s plea scheduled
While their cases are related, Trauernicht and McFadden are being prosecuted separately. McFadden is scheduled to return to court Dec. 12, when she’s expected to resolve her case by entering a new plea.
UC Davis officials have said Trauernicht began working for the UC Davis Fire Department in April 2008 and resigned Oct. 1, 2024. McFadden worked as an executive assistant at the department from Nov. 18, 2019, through Jan. 30, 2024.
The UC Davis Fire Department serves a campus community with more than 40,000 people.
Trauernicht at UC Davis had a base salary of $214,489 in 2022, and his total of pay and benefits that year was $240,663, according to compensation records provided by the state to Transparent California. The following year his base salary was $224,240 and his total of pay and benefits was $241,247.
Transparent California records show McFadden had a base salary of $57,757 in 2022, and her total of pay and benefits that year was $96,316. The following year her base salary was $61,482 and her total of pay and benefits was $88,939.
