A federal grand jury indicted Omar Naziry, a former employee of a global security and aerospace company, with mail fraud for falsely representing he was in the military to obtain pay and benefits. The defendant made his initial appearance in the Northern District of California on September 25, 2024.
According to an indictment filed July 24, 2024, and unsealed August 22, 2024, Naziry, 40, a resident of Mountain View, Calif., worked for Company 1. Company 1 had a policy under which it paid a differential to any employee who went on military leave.
The differential was the difference between the employee’s company pay and military pay. The policy — which was first instituted following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and later expanded to cover all forms of military leave — ensured the employee experienced no reduction in income because of his or her military service.
The indictment alleges that beginning in or around August 2016, Naziry requested differential pay from Company 1 on the purported basis that he was deploying with the U.S. military in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, a U.S. military command established in or about October 2014. In support of his request, Naziry allegedly sent false military orders and a false military leave and earnings statement.
Based on these representations, Company 1 awarded Naziry differential pay. Naziry allegedly continued to receive differential pay over the next several years on the purported basis that his deployment had been extended.
In or about December 2021, Company 1 informed Naziry that it was denying his request for additional differential pay on the basis that he had exhausted the five-year differential pay limit. In response, Naziry allegedly caused to be sent a letter to Company 1 authored by a “friend” and “army officer” stationed in Hawaii decrying the decision and claiming that an article would be forthcoming.
As detailed in the indictment, the letter stated, “I highly recommend you overturn this decision you’ve made or at least have a plan in place for how to mitigate the negative effects of the story once its [sic] public . . . . I hope you can take timely action to avoid this PR disaster.”
Naziry is charged with a single count of mail fraud. If convicted of mail fraud, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Naziry is also charged in a separate indictment filed July 24, 2024, and unsealed August 22, 2024, with a single count of theft of government property. According to the indictment, Naziry wrongfully obtained approximately $35,093 in housing assistance payments to which he was not entitled. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553. An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
