Haines City police captain among 10 indicted in Veterans Affairs fraud scheme
The Brief
A Haines City police captain was among 10 defendants indicted in a Veterans Affairs fraud scheme.
HCPD Captain Gabriel Garcia was among the veterans who fraudulently received a 100% disability rating.
Officials with the police department said they were both angered and deeply disappointed by the arrest.
HAINES CITY, Fla. - A captain with the Haines City Police Department was arrested on Thursday as part of a Veterans Affairs fraud scheme, according to officials.
The police department said Captain Gabriel Garcia, who was hired back in November 2007, was arrested following an investigation led by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Office of the Inspector General and the FBI.
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Federal prosecutors said Garcia was arrested alongside 10 other people after a federal grand jury returned a 49-count indictment for defrauding the government to obtain Veterans Affairs disability benefits.
From 2020 to 2025, one of the defendants, Puerto Rican resident Ángel Carrer-Rivera, used his position as a VA employee to access the Veterans Benefits Management System and assign particular claims to VA employees that he supervised, according to court documents.
During this time, prosecutors said he also communicated with co-defendant, Puerto Rican resident Richard Rivera-Maitin, about what false medical conditions should be claimed by specific veterans to get fraudulently obtained disability benefits.
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Dig deeper
Together, the pair and various veterans caused fraudulent claims for lifetime VA disability benefits to be submitted and approved based on false medical conditions, officials said.
By doing this, prosecutors said the defendants "financially enriched themselves and caused a substantial financial loss to the United States."
Federal prosecutors said Carrer-Rivera and Rivera-Maitin charged and received payments for facilitating the approval of VA disability applications based on false information. The veterans who participated in the scheme fraudulently received VA disability benefit payments, according to federal investigators.
Garcia, according to prosecutors, was one of the veterans who fraudulently received a 100% disability rating.
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The other defendants who are also facing charges include Victor Garcia-Soto, Brenda Garcia (who is the mother of the Haines City police captain), Randolph Báez, José Torres-Rosado, Eladio Pagán, Ignacio Ramos-Class and Félix Arroyo-Rivera.
What they're saying
Officials with the city and the police department said they were both angered and deeply disappointed by the arrest, saying, "law enforcement officers are sworn to uphold the law with honor and integrity. When someone in a position of leadership betrays that oath, it undermines public trust and discredits the profession."
Haines City Police Chief Jay Hopwood released the following statement after Garcia's arrest:
"The conduct that led to this arrest is a betrayal of the badge and everything this department stands for. Leadership in law enforcement carries a greater burden of responsibility, and when that trust is broken, it damages the profession and the community. We will not tolerate dishonor in our ranks and will continue holding ourselves to the highest standards of integrity and accountability."
HCPD officials said they are committed to fully cooperating with federal authorities as their investigation continues.
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The defendants in this case could face a slew of penalties if they are convicted. That includes:
Up to five years of imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud the United States
Up to 20 years of imprisonment for the substantive and conspiracy mail and wire fraud counts.
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