A federal judge has sentenced a Nampa, Idaho, 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 program’s 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.
