BOP Correctional Officer Pleaded Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Grand Theft of Personal Property and Making a False and Fraudulent Claim

On July 21, 2021, a BOP Correctional Officer and student of Alliance School of Trucking (AST) in Los Angeles County, California, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit grand theft of personal property and making a false and fraudulent claim and agreed to perform 220 hours of community service and pay $22,006.64 restitution to the U.S. Government.  Raymundo Baro was charged in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.  According to the plea agreement, Baro pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the Criminal Complaint, which states that from in or about September 2011 through in or about April 2015, Baro conspired with others to defraud the United States Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) of property.  The Criminal Complaint states that AST recruited eligible veterans to defraud the VA of Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits by telling veterans that they could collect benefits from the VA by enrolling in their truck driving school but not actually attending educational programs.  According to the Criminal Complaint, Velasco was one of several military veterans that fraudulently applied for and collected VA Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits through AST.  Sentencing is set for June 29, 2022.  The investigation is being conducted by the OIG’s Los Angeles Field Office, the VA OIG, and the FBI.