A South Bay man who worked for the Social Security Administration has pleaded guilty to stealing $5,734 from the agency and costing the agency thousands more in waivers to conceal his crimes.
Josue Edgardo Castro, 29, of San Ysidro, faces a maximum term of 10 years in federal prison. He has agreed to pay a total restitution figure of $9,045.
Sentencing is set for April 3 before U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia Bashant in San Diego. He pleaded guilty to theft of public property and remains free on $10,000 bond.
Castro worked in the downtown office as a service representative and admitted taking $5,734 in 21 money orders that were made out to the Social Security Administration. He worked there from September 2009 until May 2016.
He waived outstanding balances nine times for people who owed money in order to conceal that he had stolen their repayments. A woman insisted that she made an in-branch payment that was not reflected in her Social Security account records.
Social Security employees noticed the discrepancy and investigators discovered other suspicious records involving Castro. He admitted the thefts when he was confronted by investigators and resigned.
“There is nothing more important to federal employment than public trust. When that trust is violated, it impacts the entire federal workforce and those they serve,” said Robb Stickley, special agent in charge of the San Francisco field office.
