Feds: San Diego VA employee made millions coaching veterans to defraud disability program

A former employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs has been charged in San Diego federal court with running a criminal scheme in which he allegedly coached veterans on how to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in disability benefits by making false, misleading and exaggerated claims of service-related injuries and medical conditions.

In one instance highlighted in the indictment, the former VA employee allegedly instructed a veteran to make up a story about being date raped by a fellow soldier in order to receive higher payouts.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Daniel Rikkels, a 55-year-old Chula Vista resident, took a cut of the benefits that he coached and otherwise helped the veterans obtain, receiving “millions of dollars in payments from the veterans,” according to a court document filed last week.

Though the exact scope of the alleged scam is unclear, prosecutors alleged that in 2024 alone Rikkels transferred more than $2.3 million in fraudulently obtained funds from two credit union accounts he controlled into one of several brokerage accounts that he owned. Prosecutors also alleged that earlier this year Rikkels used unlawfully obtained funds from his brokerage accounts to pay more than $1.4 million for a luxury home on an Arizona golf course.

“My client is a veteran who served his country for many years,” defense attorney Pedro Bernal told the Union-Tribune. “At this point, he finds himself in unfamiliar territory. Over the next few months, we will take our time to evaluate the allegations against him and will address them in court.”

Rikkels was charged last week in a 33-count indictment that included allegations of wire fraud, money laundering, accepting bribes as a public official and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

“We will zealously safeguard the integrity of the VA disability program and will investigate and prosecute those who attempt to undermine the system to their own financial advantage,” San Diego-area U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement.

The Washington Post reported last month that $193 billion in taxpayer funds were set apart this year for the VA to compensate nearly 7 million disabled veterans. While VA officials told the Post that most disability claims are legitimate, the outlet’s investigation found the program is prone to rampant fraud, abuse and waste.

Rikkels allegedly began his criminal scheme as early as March 2020, according to prosecutors who said that part of his job at the VA was reviewing and approving disability claims. The indictment alleges that he would negotiate with the veterans up front before they submitted claims and agree on his cut, then provide instructions on how to falsify or exaggerate physical and psychological symptoms and ailments.

In some cases, the veterans would provide medical records to Rikkels, and he would allegedly instruct them how to alter the records, according to the indictment. In other cases, Rikkels would allegedly log into the VA’s online portal using veterans’ sign-in credentials, complete the claims process for them and later approve those same claims while acting in his official capacity at the VA.

Prosecutors included in the indictment a sampling of the messages in which Rikkels allegedly coached various veterans on what to say and how to act during medical evaluations. In messages from December 2020 and July 2025, he emphasized the importance of claiming and demonstrating back pain.

“Say it flares up daily and prevents you from a lot of normal activities,” he allegedly wrote in the July 2025 message. “You don’t like doing much anymore because causes pain and flare-ups, and you’re becoming very depressed.”

In a May 2025 message, he allegedly wrote: “These exams are a game. You just have to play the game. The examiners don’t care about what you say. You have to say the things I told you and say your life is falling apart in every aspect.”

And in April 2024, he allegedly instructed a veteran to make up a story about being raped. “You’ll just have to say something like a fellow male soldier sexually assaulted you and come up with a story,” he allegedly wrote in the message, according to the indictment. “Maybe went to a club and slipped you a pill or whatever. Woke up at his place with clothes half off etc.”

Veterans from outside San Diego County would allegedly pay Rikkels through wire transfers and various online payment methods. At the same time, Rikkels would typically ask San Diego-area veterans to meet him in person and pay in cash.

Prosecutors said Rikkels retired from the VA in June, but they alleged that he continued coaching veterans on making fraudulent claims in exchange for a cut of the benefits. When agents searched his home on Nov. 13, they allegedly found more than $270,000 in cash.

Rikkels has been released from custody on bond.