FILE A former government employee and his wife pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court Thursday 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, all while he was working a full-time job.
Rafael Castro, 50, and Miriam Castro, 48, both of Oceanside, admitted that for more than five years, they claimed 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.
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.
The husband and wife are slated to be sentenced in April following their pleas to wire fraud charges.
Copyright City News Service
Navy veteran, wife defraud VA out of more than $130K in unemployment scheme
