VA employee is among 10 indicted for disability fraud scheme

The fraud scheme at the U.S. Veterans Administration, which ran from 2020 to 2025, resulted in financial losses estimated at as much as $190 million for the federal government.

By The Star Staff

A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico has returned a 49-count indictment against 10 individuals, including a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee, for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently obtain disability benefits, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday.

“The defendants created and executed a scheme to defraud the United States Veterans Benefits Administration,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, during a press conference.

According to the indictment, Ángel Carrer Rivera, a VA employee and supervisor in the Veterans Benefits Management System, collaborated with Richard Rivera Maitín, a facilitator and veteran, to submit claims that included false medical conditions on behalf of several veterans. As a result, the veterans received disability benefit payments without actually meeting the required criteria.

Carrer Rivera and Rivera Maitín received compensation for facilitating the false claims, while the veterans involved obtained both monthly and retroactive payments. The scheme, which ran from 2020 to 2025, resulted in financial losses estimated at $190 million for the federal government.

Those indicted include Carrer Rivera, Rivera Maitín, Víctor García Soto, Brenda García, Gabriel García, Randolph Báez, José Torres Rosado, Eladio Pagán, Ignacio Ramos Class, and Félix Arroyo Rivera.

The charges filed include conspiracy and mail and wire fraud, which carry penalties of up to five years in prison for conspiracy and up to 20 years for fraud.

Statements from the U.S. Attorney’s Office were supported by investigative agencies, including the FBI and the VA Office of the Inspector General. The agencies emphasized their commitment to eliminating schemes that exploit programs designed to assist vulnerable veterans.