An Orange County judge resigned Wednesday and declared his intention to plead guilty next week to defrauding a state fund of thousands of dollars.
Israel Claustro, 50, who touted his ability to help “foster confidence in the American justice system” during his 2022 judicial campaign, agreed to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud at his next court date Monday in U.S. Central District Court in Santa Ana.
“Judge Claustro violated the law for his personal financial benefit,” said the first assistant U.S. attorney. Bill Essayli said in a statement. “We will not hesitate to prosecute anyone, including judges, who defraud public benefits intended to help those in need.”
Cloister's Costa Mesa-based attorney, Paul S. Meyer, said of his client in an emailed statement: “He takes full responsibility for his actions and cooperated fully with the investigation. In good faith, he sadly voluntarily resigns from his judicial position.”
In the plea agreement, signed Wednesday, the U.S. attorney's office calls for home confinement as punishment for Cloister.
The crime carries a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to the office, and fines totaling tens of thousands of dollars.
A judge will ultimately decide your sentence.
Claustro founded a medical corporation, Liberty Medical Group of Rancho Cucamonga, in November 2015 even though he had no formal medical background, according to the plea agreement. california law requires medical corporation owners Be licensed in medicine or a related field.
The following April, he opened a business bank account with Kevin Tien Do, a doctor, employee and participant in the fraud, according to the plea agreement.
In October of that year, Do and other doctors working for Liberty began billing the California Subsequent Injury Benefit Trust Fund, a workers' compensation fund for people who were already disabled or impaired at the time of a workplace injury, according to the plea agreement.
Liberty practitioners performed medico-legal evaluations, according to court documents.
However, in August 2017, the Division of Workers' Compensation issued Do notice of its intent to suspend him for a prior fraud case, according to the plea agreement.
Do served a one-year federal prison sentence in 2003 for felony healthcare fraud.
This conviction led to his suspension in October 2017 from participating in the trust fund program, according to the plea agreement.
Do informed Claustro of his formal suspension in April 2018. Do appealed, but the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board ultimately upheld his indefinite suspension in October 2018, according to the plea agreement.
However, Claustro still paid Do $306,000 for evaluations and medical reports performed after his suspension, according to court documents.
Do hired a medical professional, identified in court documents only as TD, to perform evaluations on patients during his suspension, according to court documents. TD, however, did not assist in the preparation or review of the medicolegal reports submitted to the trust fund, according to court documents.
TD eventually died of natural causes in December 2021, according to court documents.
Reports prepared by Do after his suspension included the names of other doctors when billing documents were sent to the trust fund, according to the plea agreement.
Cloister paid $38,670 of the $306,000 to Do knowing that he, and not another doctor, was providing the services, according to court documents.
For his part, Do pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. He is still awaiting his sentence.
The state continued to reimburse Do until spring 2022, according to court documents.
At the time, Claustro was serving as Orange County prosecutor and was campaigning to become a county Superior Court judge. Cloister achieved an outright victory in the June 2022 primary, defeating challenger Kevin Brian Jones. 72% to 28%.
His message throughout his campaign focused on his humble roots as the son of Mexican immigrants with a third-grade education.
“Claustro did not follow established OCDA office policy requiring approval of any outside employment, a procedure intended to protect against potential conflicts of interest,” the Orange County District said. Lawyer. Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
He added that Claustro “betrayed his position of trust as a public servant in the most deceitful way by stealing public benefits from those who needed them most, and he did so by posing as a warrior for truth and justice on behalf of the People of California.”
