A former Colorado Department of Transportation employee was charged this week after prosecutors say he stole more than $770,000 from the agency over a nine-year period to buy items including gift cards, camping gear and video equipment.
Aaron Victor Ceja, 48, is accused of theft, money laundering and embezzlement of public property for allegedly making unauthorized purchases between 2011 and 2020 through his state procurement card when he was a CDOT project manager, the Denver District Attorney’s Office said Thursday in a news release.
Ceja is also accused of submitting bogus invoices to CDOT through a company set up in a family member’s name, All Around Technologies, which became an authorized CDOT vendor, the release stated. An investigation later revealed that Ceja operated the company.
In August 2020, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation helped investigate, per request of CDOT’s executive director, the DA’s Office said. Ceja was arrested Tuesday.