Medical workers at border stole millions from DHS by fabricating travel expenses

Contractors who provided medical services to illegal immigrants at the border defrauded the Department of Homeland Security of more than $1 million by demanding travel reimbursements for which they were not entitled.

About 30 employees were involved in the scam, nearly a third of the contracted medical staff, the Justice Department said.

The Justice Department obtained a guilty plea last week from one of them, Neery Velazquez, who kidnapped Uncle Sam for more than $180,000.

Velazquez admitted to living in the San Diego area, but claimed he still lived in Las Vegas and commuted to his job on the border. By claiming to live more than 50 miles from his duty station, he was considered a “traveler” and allowed to collect travel expenses for accommodation and food.

He admitted to one count of making false statements, a felony.

“Every dollar stolen through fraudulent claims is a dollar taken directly from the pockets of hard-working taxpayers,” said Adam Gordon, the U.S. attorney in Southern California.

His office said the case against Velazquez was the result of a broader investigation into travel fraud within the contract medical profession in San Diego. They examined 100 employees of the same contractor and found that nearly a third of them were “committing some form of benefits fraud.”

Together, they collected approximately $1.6 million in falsified travel claims.

After the fraud was spotted, the Justice Department said, CBP made changes and contractor travel payments increased from $3.9 million per month in 2023 to $3.1 million per month in 2024.

Total savings were $9.6 million, the DOJ said.

After some high-profile deaths of sick children at the border during the first Trump administration, CBP created a medical corps to conduct screenings and help newly arrived migrants get care, regardless of their legal status.

The deployment has been the subject of allegations of contractual malfeasance and questions about the government’s responsibility in providing medical care.

Velasquez was living in Las Vegas when he started his contract work in San Diego in January 2020.

By August 26 of that year, he had moved to San Diego full time, but he did not change his information and for the next three years he claimed travel reimbursements, which the contractor submitted to Customs and Border Protection for payment.

For January 2022, for example, he claimed $6,789 in housing, food and incidentals.

Not content with this fraud, in September of that year he also inflated his expenses, entering into a rental agreement that made it appear he was paying $5,600 a month for an apartment. In reality, he was paying thousands of dollars less and living there full time.

In total, he attempted to claim $244,019, and the government paid $181,082.

Court documents do not specify who the contractor was, but a profile of Neery Velasquez on LinkedIn indicates that he worked for Loyal Source Government Services from November 2019 to October 2024, which covers the period of the fraud.

Loyal Source claims to provide healthcare personnel to government agencies, including Homeland Security.

The company did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Velazquez’s court-appointed attorney.