SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A former healthcare worker at U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention facilities in San Diego County pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court Thursday.

Neery Velazquez admitted that while he worked for a government contractor, he submitted almost $250,000 in false travel claims for reimbursement.

The Department of Justice said in a news release that contractor employees are able to request reimbursement for their lodging, meals and expenses when they travel more than 50 miles from home for work.

Velazquez was hired in January 2020 to work as a traveling contractor for CBP away from his home in Las Vegas. In 2021, he moved to San Diego permanently and was no longer eligible for reimbursements, officials said.

According to the plea agreement, between 2021 and 2024, Velazquez submitted about 35 monthly travel claims and said that he was falsely entitled to reimbursement for meals, lodging and expenses.

He also admitted to forging documents, including a fake lease, to inflate his monthly expenses.

Officials said Velazquez submitted about $244,019.48 in false claims, $181,082.85 of which was reimbursed by CBP before they noticed the discrepancies.

The case was part of an investigation led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General and several CBP offices.

Investigators found that nearly a third of the contractor’s 100 employees with traveling status in the San Diego area had committed some form of travel benefits fraud, amounting to more than $1.59 million in false claims.

CBP reimbursed the claims but later withheld payments to the contractor to make up for the losses, officials said. The Department of Justice said the investigation resulted in a reduction in travel claims from the contractor.

Velazquez pleaded guilty to one count of false claim and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14.

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