{"id":55090,"date":"2023-12-18T15:47:04","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T23:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=55090"},"modified":"2023-12-18T15:48:20","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T23:48:20","slug":"calif-man-sentenced-to-a-year-in-prison-for-his-role-in-105-million-va-fraud-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=55090","title":{"rendered":"Calif. Man Sentenced to a Year in Prison for His Role in $105 Million VA Fraud Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"A California man was sentenced Monday to one year and a day in prison for his role in defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post-9\/11 GI Bill education benefit program, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to court documents, Philip Abod, 57, of Calimesa, was a school certifying official at a school that offered VA-approved technical training programs to military veterans. <\/span><\/p>\n

Abod and his co-conspirators made false and fraudulent representations to the VA regarding, among other things, veterans\u2019 enrollment in approved courses of study and class attendance. Abod and his co-conspirators also falsified course completion records to make it appear as if enrolled veterans had completed their programs when, in fact, they had not. <\/span><\/p>\n

To conceal their scheme, court records also indicate that Abod, and his co-conspirators falsified veterans\u2019 contact information by substituting phone numbers that Abod and his co-conspirators controlled to ensure regulators could not contact the veterans. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"When regulators called the falsified phone numbers to obtain information about the school, Abod and his co-conspirators impersonated students.<\/span><\/p>\n

From January 2012 through June 2022, the school fraudulently obtained more than $32 million in tuition payments from the VA. <\/span><\/p>\n

During the same period, the VA paid over $72 million in education-related government benefits to veterans enrolled in VA-approved courses. <\/span><\/p>\n

Abod\u2019s and his co-conspirators\u2019 scheme to defraud the VA resulted in a total loss of nearly $105 million in government funds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abod was also ordered to pay the VA $3.4 million in restitution.<\/span><\/p>\n

For their roles in the scheme, co-conspirator Michael Bostock, 54, of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced to five years in prison on June 26, and co-conspirator Eric Bostock, 48, of Riverside, California, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison on Nov. 29.<\/span><\/p>\n

The VA Office of Inspector General investigated the case.<\/span><\/p>\n

Attorney Lauren Archer of the Criminal Division\u2019s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A California man was sentenced Monday to one year and a day in prison for his role in defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post-9\/11 GI Bill education benefit program, officials…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3255],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-federal-court"],"yoast_head":"\nCalif. 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