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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAn Idaho man took $105M in largest fraud scheme in GI Bill history. Prison is up next
A federal judge has sentenced a Nampa man for his involvement in a fraud scheme that stole nearly $105 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs. It was the largest such case in the Post-9/11 GI Bill programs history, the government said.
Michael Bostock, 54, founded the California Technical Academy, a for-profit school offering technical training programs at three locations near Los Angeles and San Diego, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Between January 2012 and June 2022, Bostock worked with two co-defendants to enroll unknowing veterans in courses, and also falsified records to make it look as if the courses had been completed.
The scheme involved using phone numbers controlled by Bostock in these records, according to court documents. When regulators called numbers to verify information, Bostock and his co-conspirators would impersonate veterans.
District of Columbia Judge Timothy Kelly sentenced Bostock to five years in prison on Monday, followed by three years of supervised release, and also ordered him to pay the amount stolen as restitution. Bostock signed an agreement forfeiting bank accounts containing nearly $2 million to the government.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/idaho-man-took-105m-largest-210806101.html
GreenWave
(11,824 posts)Truly doubt he will.
Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)You'd do that time just for stealing a freaking pay phone that's worth $1000.
Well, if you're poor, I mean.
Unbelievable. This should be 20 years in the can, absolute minimum.
2naSalit
(98,336 posts)He's a card carrying member.
muriel_volestrangler
(105,052 posts)If they've managed to squirrel a significant amount of it away (offshore accounts, cryptocurrency ...), it's a damn fine payday for a few years' fraud and then prison time.