U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General South Central Field Office 4040 N. Central Expwy, Suite 500 Dallas, TX 75204-3158 (214) 253-3360
Monday, February 26, 2001
Former Houston VA Employee and Her Associate Indicted in Embezzlement Scheme
Special Agent-in-Charge John Brooks of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG), Central Field Office of Investigations, announced today that on February 26, 2001, Ramona D. Geary, a former employee of the VA Regional Office in Houston, TX, and Val J. Davis, an associate of Geary, were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in Houston, TX, and charged with multiple counts of theft, mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy. Brooks stated the indictment was the culmination of investigative efforts by his Houston Resident Agency and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The indictment charges that Geary, in her capacity as a Veterans' Service Officer, created a false veteran payee within VA data systems. This ultimately caused VA to send benefit checks in the name of Davis to an address controlled by Geary from approximately September 1997 through June 2000. Davis then negotiated the checks at a local bank and check cashing businesses. The monetary loss to the Government exceeds $229,700 over the past three years. Assistant United States Attorney Larry Eastepp of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston, TX, is prosecuting the case.