healthcare worker at U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention facilities in San Diego County, he submitted almost $250,000 in false travel claims for reimbursement.
Image by Ray Shrewsberry • Ray_Shrewsberry from Pixabay
Velazquez, who worked for a government contractor, pleaded guilty to a single count of False Claim. He is scheduled to be sentenced before District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo on July 14, 2026.
Contractor employees are eligible to request reimbursement of their lodging, meal and incidental expenses when they are on “Temporary Duty” (TDY) travel more than 50 miles from the employee’s permanent home.
The defendant was hired in January 2020 to work as a “traveler” performing contracted services for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) away from his permanent home in Las Vegas. In 2021, however, the defendant moved his permanent home to San Diego, making him ineligible for reimbursement for travel expenses.
According to his plea agreement, between 2021 and 2024, Velazquez submitted approximately 35 monthly travel claims to his employer and falsely attested that he was entitled to reimbursement of his lodging, meal, and incidental expenses because he was on TDY travel.
Velazquez also admitted he submitted forged documents to inflate and support his purported monthly expenses. This included a forged month-to-month lease agreement with a fake landlord, along with a forged rental receipt signed by the fake landlord, to make it appear as if he was paying...
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