Fake Soldier Swindles Aerospace Firm Out of $550K

SAN JOSE, CA – Omar Naziry, 40, of Mountain View, California, is facing a potential 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty today to one count of mail fraud. The scheme involved years of deception, falsely claiming military service to siphon funds from a global security and aerospace company. Naziry’s lies weren’t just about prestige; they were about cold, hard cash.

According to court documents, Naziry exploited a company policy – instituted after 9/11 and later broadened – designed to ensure employees experienced no loss of income while serving in the military. He submitted fabricated military orders and earnings statements in August 2016, initiating a flow of “differential pay” – the difference between his civilian salary and what he’d supposedly earn in uniform. The fraud continued for six years, extending through April 2022, with a renewed fraudulent request in July 2017 claiming a four-year extension of his nonexistent deployment.

The company, referred to as “Company 1” in court filings, initially complied with Naziry’s requests, awarding him the fraudulent payments. Even when facing scrutiny in June 2021 – after hitting the five-year limit for differential pay – Naziry doubled down. He attempted to circumvent the policy in January 2022 using a fake identity to request even *more* money. When confronted with evidence suggesting his orders were bogus, he doubled down, mailing a letter falsely affirming their validity and claiming to be stationed in the Middle East.

The damage wasn’t limited to his employer. Between January 2021 and October 2022, Naziry simultaneously defrauded the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) out of $35,093 in housing assistance. He knowingly misrepresented his income, claiming poverty while pocketing hundreds of thousands from his employer. The total financial loss caused by Naziry’s actions is estimated to be between $250,000 and $550,000.

U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian and John Helsing, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Western Field Office, announced the guilty plea. Naziry, currently released on bond, is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24, 2025, before U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts. He faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine – or twice the amount of his ill-gotten gains.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Arash Rezaei, Kevin Costello, and Lynette Dixon are prosecuting the case. The investigation was a joint effort by DCIS and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General. This case serves as a stark reminder that exploiting patriotic policies for personal gain will be met with federal prosecution, and that the long arm of the law extends to those who prey on the generosity of both companies and government programs.