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Embezzlement Charges against former City Manager Mark Danaj

Four years ago, Danaj was fired as city manager of Manhattan Beach. In November of 2021, he resigned as city manager of Fremont under unknown circumstances. Later in early April 2022, embezzlement charges were filed against Danaj alleging that he used the city-issued card to make unauthorized purchases including apple products, medical services, and food delivery totalling up to 18,000 dollars.

Illustrated by Lily Jiang


By Daniel Gong, Katelyn Shen

Edited: Faith Qiao

 

Mark Danaj, 52 years old, is the former Fremont city manager who served from 2018 to 2021. Danaj’s city work background started in 2011, when he was hired in Fremont as the assistant manager. He previously worked at San Jose as a human resources director. Danaj’s initial tenure in Fremont ended in 2014 when he left for the position of city manager in Manhattan Beach, CA. However, after four years, Danaj was fired from the position in 2018.


While the reasons were unknown, many suspect he was fired for hiring his friend as assistant manager and pushing back against the removal of the position. Danaj ended up receiving a $250,000 severance package from his contract, and he was hired by Fremont as the city manager shortly after.


Danaj worked as the city manager from 2018 until he resigned from his position in September, 2021. While he was working, there were not many complaints about his work, but there were citizens confused as to why Fremont hired him after his firing in Manhattan Beach. Just like in Manhattan Beach, Danaj losing the position was controversial and confusing.


On September 15, 2021, Danaj was arrested after getting into a physical altercation. This incident placed him in jail, which ultimately led to his retirement on September 30, 2021, a few days after the arrest. He gave no reason for why he retired, and the city was not allowed to speak on it under his contract.


Danaj’s contract was structured to give him an immense severance pay. Danaj was contracted from 2018 to 2023, and the contract gave him a massive severance package if he resigned or was fired before the end of the contract. Danaj’s severance package ended up being over $300,000: $294,000 in lump sum pay, $50,000 for leave time, and $22,325 in monthly installments for one year.


The $294,000 was equivalent to 10 and a half months of pay, meaning that Danaj’s severance package was greater than over 1 year of salary. Upon parting ways with Danaj, Fremont mayor Lily Mei remarked “Mark has led the city through several major milestones this past 18 months as we navigated through an unprecedented historical pandemic."


The city manager is the chief executive officer for municipal corporations. They provide leadership and direction for city staff, as well as providing information, advice, and assistance when needed. This includes duties such as overseeing and maintaining the city budget, managing city employee staffing, and more. City managers often spend their days in meetings with different departments and council members to coordinate what is best for the city. In Fremont, the city manager oversees day to day operations and manages community projects.


In late February 2022, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office filed felony charges against Danaj for embezzlement of city funds. These charges were declared by Thomas Cleary of the DA’s office. Danaj was officially charged with embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds for using a city issued credit card to make personal purchases.


According to authorities, Danaj spent over $18,000 for personal purchases. By law, a personal purchase means a purchase of goods and services, the requirement for which is not for the County or any of its purposes, but is personal to the person requesting the purchase. According to Cleary, Danaj used the card “for travel, accommodations, Apple products, medical services, and food delivery,” all of which should be constituted as personal charges.


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