Superior Court Judge Karen Dixon ordered former Plumas County Human Resources Director Nancy Louise Selvage to serve 16 months in state prison and pay $100,807.63 to Plumas County as restitution for her criminal activity.
The ruling, at Selvage’s Aug. 6 sentencing hearing in Plumas County Superior Court, included immediate suspension of prison time and two years of probation, to be served under supervision of the Plumas County Probation Department. Dixon, a visiting judge from Siskiyou County, also ordered Selvage to serve 100 hours of community service.
The 50-minute sentencing hearing, continued from May 16, included Dixson’s order to Selvage to pay a $300 fine to a state restitution fund. Dixon officially dismissed counts two and three of the criminal charges. Under the sentence, Selvage is disqualified from holding any public office in California.
The $100,807.63 restitution fee is based on the salary Selvage drew after her conflict-of-interest activity resulted in a 43% raise for herself. It covers the period from June 1, 2022, when she began drawing it, until March 25, when she was convicted. Selvage continued to receive her salary while she was suspended as a county employee from the time of her arrest Nov. 16, 2023 until her conviction.
Both Dixon and Eric Acevedo, Selvage’s attorney, participated in the sentencing hearing by Zoom. The hearing was complicated by technical issues that briefly removed Dixon from the proceedings.
During the hearing, in Plumas County’s first-floor courtroom, Selvage lashed out at the Plumas County District Attorney’s office for continuing “to prosecute me” and “slander my name.” She asked for assurance that it would stop. “I don’t feel safe in this county. I don’t feel safe in my house,” Selvage said.
In his remarks to the court, prosecuting attorney Assistant District Attorney Brian Hagen said Selvage’s crime was “calculated self-dealing by the very official tasked with protecting the integrity of our <county> hiring and compensation systems.”
“This wasn’t a misunderstanding. It wasn’t a paperwork error. It was a calculated fraud, and the defendant wasn’t railroaded. She was caught,” Hagen said.
The criminal case
Selvage, 70, was suspended as county HR director Nov. 16, 2023, when District Attorney David Hollister filed three criminal charges against her. Among them was a charge of obtaining money by false pretenses, a conflict of interest felony.
The case originates from a Plumas County Board of Supervisors’ closed session held May 17, 2022. The prosecution focused on the board meeting a week later, when Selvage, as HR director, recommended salary increases for appointed county department heads. The largest was a 43% increase for Selvage herself, according to court records. Her annual salary jumped from $97,634.88 to $137,063.88. Three years later, the HR director position is currently being advertised with a pay scale between $50 and $60 an hour, which comes to around $104,000 to $124,800 a year.
Selvage’s March 25 criminal trial involved day-long negotiations between Dixon, Acevedo, and Hagen. A pool of 200 potential jurors was sent home by Dixon, who dismissed them from jury duty for the rest of the year.
Late in the day, Selvage pleaded no contest to one count of obtaining money by false pretenses, a conflict of interest felony. Under her agreement with the court, the two other criminal charges were dismissed in exchange for her plea.
Selvage speaks out
In an oral statement made during her Aug. 6 sentencing hearing, Selvage complained of “continued harassment” by the Plumas County District Attorney’s office since her March 25 conviction. In a 12-page statement Selvage filed with the court April 21, she said she accepted the March 25 plea bargain with “great hesitation” and felt “backed in a corner.”
“I took responsibility in good faith… to resolve the issue,” she said. The prosecution contributed to her conviction by “rendering misstatements” to pursue “charges for an unjust purpose, such as political gain,” Selvage said in her written statement. She also complained about “prosecutorial misconduct” and bullying by the district attorney’s office.
Hagen said the investigation was based entirely on facts and an “extremely thorough investigation.” Each complaint was well supported, he said. Hagen, who moved to Plumas County in 2023, said he held “no personal animus against Ms. Selvage.”
He credited “civically virtuous members of the public” for bringing evidence to light that triggered the investigation. Among them, Hagen named Sheriff’s Employee’s Association President Chandler Peay, former board of supervisors Clerk Heidi White, and the 2023 civil grand jury.
Dixon ordered Selvage to complete a financial statement, which the judge will use to determine the monthly amounts Selvage must pay to Plumas County as restitution. Failure to make minimum payments could result in a probation violation, Dixon said.
