Former Philly VA Worker Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement Scheme

Philadelphia PA

26 May, 2022

10:46 AM

Description

PHILADELPHIA — A former employee of the Philadelphia Veterans' Affairs Medical Center pleaded guilty in federal court to an embezzlement scheme from the center. United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said Bruce Minor, 46, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in connection with his scheme to embezzle money from the Philadelphia Veterans' Affairs Medical Center. In April 2022, Minor was charged in a one-count Criminal Information with theft of government funds stemming from his theft of $487,000 in Veterans Affairs travel reimbursement funds, which he helped administer as part of his official duties as a travel clerk. In order to perpetrate the theft, Minor created fraudulent travel reimbursement claims in the names of at least three other medical center employees and then diverted the fraudulently obtained funds into bank accounts he controlled. According to court documents, in an email to the medical center's management, the defendant admitted to stealing approximately $13,000 in travel funds, though subsequent investigation showed that he stole upwards of $487,000 between December 2015 and September 2019. "Injured veterans – and all Americans – deserve public employees who do their jobs honestly, without gaming the system to line their own pockets," Williams said. "While the VA was focused on providing high-quality care and programs to the men and women who served our country, the defendant selfishly took advantage of his position to perpetrate this fraud scheme and cheat the taxpayers who fund these services."