SAN JOSE — A Mountain View man pleaded guilty Wednesday to defrauding an employer out of between $250,000 and $550,000 by falsely claiming to be on military deployment and requesting differential pay despite never having been in the military, according to prosecutors.
Omar Naziry, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in federal court, according to a press release from the Department of Justice Northern District of California. He was first
indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2024
.
Naziry had formerly been employed by a global security and aerospace company that offered a program for employees on military leave where it paid the difference between the company’s pay and military pay, prosecutors said.
Between August 2016 and April 2022, Naziry claimed he was deployed with the military in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, which sought to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and collected the military pay and other benefits from the company, prosecutors said. As part of his initial application to the program in 2016, Naziry submitted falsified military papers, including a leave and earnings statement and military orders.
In July 2017, Naziry again submitted falsified military orders and claimed his deployment had been extended by four years, and the company awarded more differential pay, prosecutors said. When he applied again to the program in June 2021, the company declined to pay Naziry the differential pay because he had reached the program’s five-year cap.
Prosecutors said he responded to the rejection with a letter from a “friend” and “army officer” that recommended the firm reverse course or face the consequences of an unfavorable news article.
“I hope you can take timely action to avoid this PR disaster,” the letter allegedly stated.
In January 2022, Naziry again requested differential pay from the company — this time using a fake identity, prosecutors said. In March, the company notified Naziry that it believed his military orders were fake, prompting him to send the company another falsified letter claiming he was stationed in the Middle East.
Naziry admitted in a plea agreement that his actions caused the company to lose between $250,000 and $550,000, prosecutors said.
Between January 2021 and October 2022, Naziry also falsely reported his income as lower than it was and received more $35,000 in federal housing assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, prosecutors said.
The company Naziry was employed by
is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland
and has a location in Sunnyvale.
Naziry could face up to 20 years in prison and could be ordered to pay a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount of his gross gain, prosecutors said.
He will next appear in federal court Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. for his sentencing. He remains out of custody on bond.
