EXCLUSIVE: San Francisco Sheriff's Deputy arrested for alleged insurance fraud

SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco sheriff's deputy was arrested Thursday morning on federal insurance fraud charges stemming from an allegedly staged burglary at her home in March of 2016.

Federal agents arrested Deputy April Myres at work, and served a search warrant at her home.

Myres reported a burglary at her home on Tocoloma Avenue nearly a year ago, listing her service firearm and a ballistic vest among the stolen items.

According to federal documents filed Thursday, the burglary was a ruse in part to help arm a former convicted felon named Antoine Fowler, with whom she allegedly had a relationship with while he was in jail.

Myres has been with the San Francisco Sheriff's Department for 20 years.

"We received a tip," said FBI spokesperson Prentice Danner.

That tip, according to the federal criminal complaint filed Thursday came from former convicted felon Antoine Fowler's cellmate, who told an FBI agent Myres and Fowler had an "intimate relationship" in the San Francisco County Jail, were planning a "vacation in Hawaii together," and that Myres would get Fowler a gun when he was released.

The San Francisco division of the FBI said it is aware that a burglary happened at Myres' home last year. The burglary was an insurance scam according to the complaint.

Myres told SFPD her home was broken into last March, but, the FBI special agent on the case says a surveillance camera across the street showed Myres was at home at the time of the alleged burglary.

There's also evidence in the criminal complaint that Myres' son, known as "A.J," and Fowler helped burglarize her home.

Myres filed a $67,000 insurance claim for the items stolen, including San Francisco Sheriff's Department gear she didn't own, such as her gun with serial number BMP254. Agents found it in Fowler's vehicle when they arrested him Thursday.

The San Francisco sheriff emailed a statement: The behavior described in the allegations against Ms. Myres falls well below the standard of conduct we and the public expect of peace officers, and it is not reflective of the hard work and dedication of the men and women of the San Francisco Sheriff's Department. We are grateful to the FBI and the San Francisco District Attorney's Office for their thorough and complete investigation of this matter, with which we were actively involved from the beginning.

Myres was most recently assigned to the jail ward at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Agents arrested her there Thursday.

The sheriff's department says Myres is on paid administrative leave pending a review and evaluation of all the evidence to determine appropriate discipline, up to and including termination.

According to the criminal complaint against Fowler, Myres' other son is a San Francisco police officer. It's not clear what if any role he may have played in the burglary. The criminal complaint against Myres is sealed.