Just days after reaching a settlement to be reinstated as a government employee, Leo Espia, a former planner with the Office of Civil Defense, has been indicted on multiple corruption charges. A superior court grand jury returned a true bill Friday, charging Espia with theft by deception (2nd-degree felony) and tampering with public records (3rd-degree felony), plus three misdemeanor counts tied to payroll mismanagement.

All charges include a special allegation of a crime against the community.

The indictment alleges Espia certified timesheets with inaccurate payroll amounts while employed at OCD. This follows recent audits highlighting $2.9 million in unauthorized overtime and $8.2 million improperly charged to the General Fund.

Last week, the Civil Service Commission dismissed Espia’s long-running firing appeal, approving a settlement that will reinstate him as a classified employee, transfer him to the Port Authority of Guam, and award him backpay and retirement contributions.

Espia was terminated in 2022 over cybersecurity concerns. He denied wrongdoing and said the servers in question were known to OCD leadership, including administrator Charles Esteves - who was also indicted on April 16. Espia is ordered to appear in court May 8. 

The total number of current and former GHS/OCD employees facing corruption charges is now 6.