State regulators on Tuesday, March 24, barred former Orange County Superior Court Judge Israel Claustro from ever serving on the California bench again in the aftermath of his guilty plea to criminal mail fraud and January resignation.
The action by the California Commission on Judicial Performance comes while Claustro, 50, is awaiting sentencing on June 26 in federal court for one felony count of defrauding a state workers’ compensation program.
Through his attorney, Paul S. Meyer, Claustro agreed to the state discipline, the strongest sanction the commission can impose on a judge who has resigned from judicial office. The panel also publicly censured Claustro, who served as a family law judge.
The commission said that even though Claustro’s misconduct occurred before he was a judge, while he was a county prosecutor, it was a crime of moral turpitude that violated the Code of Judicial Ethics.
During his tenure with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Claustro formed the Rancho Cucamonga-based Liberty Medical Group, in violation of state law because he was not a physician or medical professional.
Among the company’s employees was Dr. Kevin Tien Do, a Pasadena physician who previously served a year in federal prison for a 2003 felony health care fraud conviction.
Because of that conviction, Do was barred from evaluating applicants to the Workers’ Compensation Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund, a state program meant to help injured employees.
Nevertheless, Claustro had Do write up medical claims as well as evaluations that were submitted to the workers’ compensation program under the names of other physicians.
The state sent more than $3 million to the Liberty Medical Group, according to Claustro’s federal plea deal. Do was paid $306,000. Another $1.5 million was moved to a management company owned by Claustro. It is unclear where the rest of the money went, or if any of it was used for legitimate medical claims.
Do has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and filing a false tax return. He is awaiting sentencing.
Federal prosecutors are recommending Claustro serve time in home confinement, rather than prison, along with probation. The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Meyer said Tuesday it would be inappropriate to comment on the commission’s sanctions. Previously, after Claustro signed his plea agreement, Meyer stated that the former judge “deeply regrets his wrongful 2022 participation in a business venture that did not involve any part of his work as a district attorney and ended before he became a judge.”
Also, after the plea, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Claustro, as a prosecutor, violated office policy, which requires approval of outside employment, a procedure designed to safeguard against conflicts of interest.
“He betrayed his position of trust as a public servant in the most deceitful way by stealing public benefits from those who needed them the most, and he did so while masquerading as a warrior for truth and justice on behalf of the people of California,” Spitzer said.