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Twin Rivers Trustee Charged With Accepting Illegal Loans, Falsifying Paternity Test

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - In the latest development for the problem-plagued Twin Rivers Unified School District, an elected official has been arrested on several felony charges -- including illegally accepting money.

The allegations against 46-year-old Trustee Cortez Quinn surfaced in May 2012.

The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office says Cortez had been illegally accepting money from a female employee at the school, with who he was also in a relationship.

Between December 2010 and April 2011, the employee allegedly gave Quinn $4,000 in gifts and more than $50,000 in loans. It is illegal for a school board member to receive loans from a district employee under California law. Quinn was also required to report the transactions, which he failed to do.

In December 2011, the employee gave birth to a son. She later filed for a paternity test, and Quinn was ordered by the courts to submit his DNA for testing.

According to the district attorney, Quinn -- with the assistance of 36-year-old lab technician Andre Pearson -- submitted a fraudulent DNA sample that produced a negative test result.

Quinn is charged with four felony counts of perjury, four felony counts of filing false documents, and five misdemeanor counts related to improper receipt of the loans and gifts.

In relation to the paternity test, both Quinn and Pearson face felony counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and conceal evidence, and preparing false evidence for a court proceeding. In addition, Quinn is charged with offering fraudulently altered evidence in a court proceeding and perjury -- both felonies.

Quinn faces a maximum of 12 years imprisonment on the felony offenses, and an additional six months in county jail for each misdemeanor. Pearson faces a maximum of three years imprisonment for the felony offenses.

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