Ex-Govt. Employee Sentenced For Defrauding Department Of Veteran Affairs

SAN DIEGO, CA — A former government employee who pleaded guilty to defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $130,000 by claiming he was unemployed and required full-time caregiving from his wife has been sentenced to four months in prison.

Oceanside residents Rafael Castro and his wife Miriam Castro pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges earlier this year for claiming Rafael Castro needed his wife's full-time assistance with routine activities such as dressing himself and taking care of his personal hygiene, according to prosecutors.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said this occurred for more than five years, all while Rafael Castro was working a full-time job.

As a result, Miriam Castro was paid to be her husband's full-time home health aide and received the equivalent of 40-hour per-week payments through the VA's Caregiver Support Program. Castro is a U.S. Navy veteran, and the Caregiver Support Program provides caregiver benefits for injured veterans.

During the time period of the fraud, Rafael Castro falsely claimed several times to VA representatives that he was unemployed, but the U.S. Attorney's Office said he actually worked for the Veterans Health Administration and later for the Internal Revenue Service.

Casto was sentenced Friday in San Diego federal court.

— City News Service