{"id":13748,"date":"2015-07-19T08:35:50","date_gmt":"2015-07-19T15:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=13748"},"modified":"2015-07-19T08:40:45","modified_gmt":"2015-07-19T15:40:45","slug":"two-found-guilty-of-stealing-money-earmarked-for-veterans-will-be-sentenced-in-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=13748","title":{"rendered":"Two Found Guilty of Stealing Money Earmarked for Veterans Will Be Sentenced in October"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN DIEGO<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\"Justice-Depart\"<\/a>Two defendants,\u00a0Judith Paixao<\/strong> and Kevin Lombard,<\/strong> a husband and wife who embezzled federal funds intended for job training, benefits and equipment for injured Marines returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, will be sentenced in October, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

A jury found Paixao and Lombard guilty earlier this month of using some of the funds to pay for a variety of personal expenses, including a vacation in Bermuda, cell phone bills for their family members, and the costs of a New Year\u2019s Day sailing trip around San Diego Bay.<\/p>\n

Although the defendants claimed to have donated over $200,000 to start the Foundation, they ended up taking more than $400,000 from the Foundation\u2019s accounts over the course of two years, according to authorities.<\/p>\n

The two will be sentenced on Oct. 19, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny fraud against our federal agencies is a serious matter,\u201d U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy A<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cBut the fraud committed by these defendants -who used money set aside to help wounded veterans and spent it on themselves – is particularly offensive. These defendants capitalized on the misfortune of wounded marines in their time of vulnerability and took advantage of the VA\u2019s commitment to serving wounded veterans to defraud the VA and enrich themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding, “These veterans endured many sacrifices to protect our country from harm. IRS-Criminal Investigation is committed to working with our partners to protect America\u2019s veterans from tax evaders and fraudsters.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From 2007-2009, Paixao and Lombard were directors of the Wounded Marine Careers Foundation, a tax-exempt entity that trained injured veterans for careers in the film industry.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0defendants were convicted on several felony counts related to embezzling funds from the Foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paixao was convicted on one count of mail fraud for her role in a scheme to defraud another charity out of scholarship funds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Evidence presented at trial showed that the defendants conspired to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs and submitted false claims to the VA to get funds for training and equipment they never provided. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than paying the Foundation\u2019s creditors (some of whom were board members), the defendants transferred funds to their own personal credit cards and bank accounts.<\/p>\n

Although some of this money went to repay expenses they had fronted to the Foundation, the defendants also ended up taking over $100,000 for themselves.<\/p>\n

The defendants routinely commingled the finances of the Foundation with their personal finances, thereby obstructing the ability of the Internal Revenue Service to monitor the Foundation\u2019s tax-exempt status and determine the defendants\u2019 personal income tax liability.<\/p>\n

Among the witnesses who testified at trial were three of the injured veterans who used their vocational rehabilitation benefits to participate in the first training class: Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch and Lance Corporal Joshua Frey. Lance Corporal Frey, who had previously been quoted in a favorable New York Times article.<\/p>\n

They testified at trial that after the article was published the defendants did not give him all the equipment he was promised, and failed to provide him with certain training and job placement, officials said.<\/p>\n

Evidence at trial also showed that Paixao defrauded the Bob Woodruff Foundation in connection with a restricted grant of almost $100,000 by concealing the fact that one of the intended recipients \u2013 a Marine who had been injured in Fallujah \u2013 had left the program.<\/p>\n

Instead of notifying the Bob Woodruff Foundation and asking for a reallocation of the funds, Paixao took the grant money and used it for other purposes, officials said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAN DIEGO Two defendants,\u00a0Judith Paixao and Kevin Lombard, a husband and wife who embezzled federal funds intended for job training, benefits and equipment for injured Marines returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, will…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[473,1477,189],"class_list":["post-13748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-fraud","tag-military-veterans","tag-u-s-district-court"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Found Guilty of Stealing Money Earmarked for Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two defendants will be sentenced in October after being found guilty earlier this money of stealing federal funds earmarked for veterans\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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